It's Amazing

Tonight as I was putting my boys to bed they said, "Mom, will you read us a little bit more of the Bible?"
I climbed in.  We had just finished reading Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, and next was Song of Solomon.  Not that there is anything wrong with Song of Solomon, lovers should express themselves, just not right now for bed time reading with Mom.  So I turned to the back and there was 2 Timothy.
It's amazing how God knows what you need to hear and read, and when.  2 Timothy is a book about keeping your faith, guarding yourself, standing firm, and trusting in what you can't see when others want you to just give up.  Wow!!  Anyone who knows me, knows that I've been dealing with ALL of this this year!!!!
I've got to be honest, it gets tiring, but what keeps me going is knowing what my prize will be in the end.  Pure happiness!
Here's what 2 Timothy has to offer just on the points I mentioned above:

"For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (fear), but a spirit of power, love, and of self-discipline (sound mind).  So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prionser (the Apostle Paul).  But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God." 2 Timothy 1:7-8
-Sure!  I know everyone wants to jump on the band wagon of suffering.  Isn't it the least we can do?  If Jesus, unselfishly died for us so we could have a relationship with God the Father and Creator of all things, how great is the possibility of suffering for the sake of God's love in the grand scheme of things?

"That is why I am suffering as I am.  Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day." 2 Timothy 1:12
-Trusting in God may not seem like it gets you much on earth.  You'll probably get more haggles than handshakes.  But guess what?  I've got a mansion waiting for me, and a crown of jewels!  I've never been very big on jewelery, but I'll take it.  I'm also hoping for at least a shack.  Either way mansion or shack, it's gonna be awesome.  Read Revelation, and try to draw what Heaven's going to be like!!!  Not fighting, no tiredness, no tears of sadness..  I'm ready for that.

Here's a hard one to work on.  We all know we have been here at least once, but think about what God's word is telling us.
"Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.  Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguements, because you know they produce quarrels.  And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful.  Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their sensel and escape from the trap of the devil who has taken them captive to do his will." 2 Timothy 2: 22-26
-How many times have we come across this person, or are dealing with them right now!  There always seems to be one close by.  How have we reacted to them?  Have we showed them gentleness through instruction?  Have we been kind and NOT resentful?  Do we quarrel or fight with them just for the sake of doing so?  How easy is it to just throw aside God's love and just get down right dirty and ask for forgiveness later?  I heard that phrase used a lot lately, "Just do it, and ask for forgiveness later."  Sure it's easier to give into what we want or want to do, but should we really do it if we have to ask for forgiveness afterwards?  Probably not, that's my thinking.  I know I've got to work on this.  I think this is an area all women need to work on.  If only for once we could have a tiny piece of the man's brain for this instance, how much easier would life be?!  Men can let just about anything roll off, most of the time they don't even know there's anything wrong. WOW!  Nothing wrong, ever? Really?!  Yep, that's about right.  I would love to have just 10 minutes of absolutely no thoughts running through my head!!  That's not an insult, but an actual fact; according to my husband.  Ladies, think how much peaceful ALL of our lives would be if we could just drop it and let God take it.  No, no, no...We have to fix it.  God can fix it 1,000 times better than we could ever imagine, if we just let him.  If we don't, he's got to remove all the suffocating band-aids and ace wraps, and heal those wounds, before He can get to the REAL wound.  Think about it.

I'm a little tuckered out and thinking about how nice it would be to go snuggle with my boys....  Maybe someone out there needed to read this.  Here's to hoping my food for thought can be an appetizer to a full belly of God's love!  Thanks Apostle Paul for putting it into words.  Good night.