Will God say.... "Well Done?"

2 Timothy 2:15 -   Work hard so God can say to you, “Well done.” Be a good workman, one who does not need to be ashamed when God examines your work. Know what his Word says and means. 

Paul pours every bit of love he can into this letter to his good friend Timothy. He sits in prison…but the love he has for God is being transferred onto pieces of paper for his friend to be strengthened. Paul probable never imagined the number of believers that would also gain strength and wisdom from the words he placed in this letter to Timothy.

This charge to Timothy has long been one of my favorites. I ignored it for long years…letting the world do exactly what Paul warned Timothy against.  Life distracted me from learning the Bible God left us.  I read it in church….occasionally picking it up in hard times….but for the most part the Bible was an important book that I let others interpret for me.

It took the abandonment of divorce…and the pain of loss to bring me to my senses. God probably was steering me towards this epiphany years before with less pain and struggle…but something about being broken helps you realize that God is the only thing that can give you real answers…and all those answers are embedded in His word.

I try not to beat myself up anymore for wasting so much time….but thank God for the last 5 years of growth He has given me as I have begun to really read and try to understand all that He let others write down for us to follow. I have much still to learn…each verse unlocking new truth and understanding… even if I have read it 10 times before.

I will testify that nothing has helped me grow more in Christ that the time of study…and the writing of this blog each day. I cannot imagine going to sleep or waking any other way than to turn my thoughts to Him in reading one more chapter of His Bible….or waking to process just how it can help me move even closer to that goal that Paul talks about.

Father…thank you for the gift of your Bible and the strength and wisdom you embedded in each page of words.  Forgive me for the time that I wasted …letting others tell me about the Bible…but not opening and letting you guide me through it by myself. Help me to never let go of the precious time you have helped me to see as life altering. Draw me even closer to you by showing me even more time that I can spend in study and reflection in your great word. Amen.