Because He Considered Me Faithful

Most of us adults have learned the value of proving ourselves faithful. A good work ethic can often result in promotions. Steady faithfulness to the task at hand shows our employer he can depend on us and if that is a trait the employer observes in us continually, he or she might entrust more responsibility to us. 

“12 I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, 13 though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, 14 and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.” (1Timothy 1:12-14) 

Paul writes these words to Timothy, the young minister he considered as his true son. In his letter, the apostle shares this insight on the inner working of the Lord in Paul’s life to teach and inspire Timothy in his own personal life and career in the Lord. Paul goes on to share how he, though he was formerly a sinner and persecutor of the church, received mercy from the Lord who appeared to him and turned his life utterly upside down. After his conversion, the Lord did not immediately commission Paul for the mission we read about in Acts 13:2. But rather, Paul grew in his relationship with the Lord and in his understanding of Scripture. Paul lived and witnessed for about 13 years in the areas of Arabia, Tarsus, Damascus and Antioch and only after those 13 years, and by the Holy Spirit, did Paul receive his commission to carry the Gospel message beyond those areas.

As Paul reflects on his own life, he writes to Timothy that the Lord “appointed him to the Lord’s service” because He considered him “faithful.” What a deep insight for Timothy, what great advice from a man who had walked the road with the Lord. 

In our personal lives and our churches today, we see that many people want to skip or shortcut that stage of proving yourself faithful. It takes time, it does not happen in a moment of one good choice, instead it happens when good choices become a lasting pattern and lifestyle. When the allure of other opportunities and temptations and adversities stands in our way, but we keep the course with the Lord. When we pushed forward when everything around us wanted to hold us back and we continued our path with the Lord even when those close to us came and went. In the end, all that remains is and has always been, Him alone. 

I pray that whatever circumstances and hardship you face today, remain steady. The Lord sees it even when you wonder if it even matters. It does, and in His time, He will entrust you with more because of it.