God is Right Here
By Rev. Jarrett Washington, Columnist
Second Timothy 4:17-18 says, “But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and save me for his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.” There is a consciousness of God, where God wants us to live. However, God also wants us to know when the living gets hard, God will stand with us. In fact, God strengthens you so the word of God would be over you.
We have transitioned into a season and to a time where the folk who play church can’t run the church. The church has got to be the church. There are too many people who are sick, dying, and suffering for anyone to play games with the God we serve.
In 2 Timothy, the Apostle Paul sets up the argument that the Lord stood with and strengthened him. Paul’s accusers were encircling him and the ministry he led but he still was able to stand.
Isn’t it funny, that the people who are there for us in good times seem nowhere to be found in bad times? You have got to get to a point where you don’t allow people to walk in and out of your life. Either you are here or you are not. Stop allowing folk who don’t mean you any good and are trying to mess up what God is trying to do to come in and out of your life.
The Apostle Paul writes to Timothy, “I was rescued from the lion’s mouth.”I believe God wants us to be overcomers. The term “overcomer” is especially prominent in the book of Revelation, where Jesus encourages his people to remain steadfast through trials.
Overcomers are followers of Christ who successfully resist the power and temptation of the world’s system. An overcomer is not sinless but holds fast to faith in Christ until the very end. He or she does not turn away when times get difficult or become weak. Overcoming requires complete dependence upon God for direction, purpose, fulfillment, and strength.
Speak to yourself and ask if Paul could be saying that your deliverance from the mouth of the lion was your victory? Could Paul be setting up an argument for the very idea that every time God gets you out of something, God is giving you victory in the midst of a battle? Could God really be trying to help you understand that your very head—the house of your mind—is already being delivered from the mouth of the lion and God wants you to know that you are an overcomer?
When you overcome, you recognize God is standing with you. Paul’s lion was him having to face Nero and all the governments of Rome who were declaring his death. Every time he got out of one situation, the enemy tried to put another in his pathway. Every time he got up, the enemy tried to throw him down. God is not only pulling you out but God is also pulling you through it. Don’t fold. Don’t quit. Don’t struggle because God is where you need to be. God is definitely standing with you!
The Rev. Jarrett Washington is the pastor of Hopewell AME Church in Hemingway, South Carolina. He is a graduate of Turner Theological Seminary at the ITC in Atlanta, Georgia, with both the Master of Divinity and Master of Arts in Christian Education degrees. Currently, he serves as the co-editor of The Voice of Mission Magazineand layout artist for the Missionary Magazine. He is married to Deronda C. Washington and is the father of one daughter, Braylen Jael.
