He is Able to Keep

For this reason I also suffer these things;
nevertheless, I am not ashamed,
for I know in whom I have believed and am persuaded
that He is able to keep that which I have committed to Him
until the Day.
2 Timothy 1:12, NKJV

Ridicule. Riots. Accusations. Imprisonments. Whippings. Beatings. Assassination attempts. Stoning. Sickness. Shipwrecks. Snakebites. Innumerable perils and persecutions. Poverty. Exhaustion. Heat. Cold. Homelessness. Hunger. Death.

By the end of his 35 year ministry, Paul had suffered incredibly for the cause of Jesus Christ. And as he dictates the last letter of his life, he knows that he is living on limited time. At any moment they could come for him and lead him out the Appian Way to his beheading. Yet He knows why he has suffered. He has known since the very beginning all the things he would have to endure because of the call. Maybe it was a long awaited harvest of the seed he had sown while persecuting the church. Maybe anybody who had this kind of ministry would have faced such things. Maybe God knew Paul was the only one with intestinal fortitude enough to stick it out. But when Paul gave his life to Jesus, he did so with full knowledge of all the things that would happen to him as he followed the Lord. And it had come to this. A dark, dank prison cell. A lone companion. And a chopping block.

Yet Paul says he has nothing to be ashamed of. He knows in whom he believes.

What confidence! What hope! What faith! To have all your eggs in one basket, so to speak, and to know that they are all going to be preserved. There is no room for spreading our faith around in several belief systems, and no sense in putting our trust in our own selves. When I trust myself, I find fail too often to be trustworthy. I can't make it on my own. And when I spread my trust around, I find myself constantly torn and tossed about. But when I put my trust in Jesus, that's when I find the most peace.

Paul took everything--his fears, his hopes, his dreams, his desires, his infirmities and failures, his successes and triumphs, his livelihood and his life, his past, present and future--and put it all in the hands of the Master whom he served. From that point on, it didn't matter what he did or what got done to him. It didn't matter what happened to him or around him. He summed it up best while on board a sinking ship--This night an angel of the Lord stood by me and said do not be afraid! When God's got you in His hand, God is also going to keep you, and see you through to His appointed end.

And when we get there, we will find that God has also preserved everything we have committed to Him against that Day. The world around me may fall apart; in fact, quite literally to hear some predictions. Storm winds may blow; battles may rage. The fight may be long, the valley deep, the mountain steep, and the night dark. But I have taken hold of the hand of God, and He's not going to let go. He is leading, He is guiding, He is directing. I'm telling you, God is totally in control--whether you want Him to be or not. So we can either hold to God's unchanging hand, or try to do this without Him.

But I know in whom I have believed. He has proven Himself faithful time and time and time again. He has never let me down, He has never left me alone. Though I have often failed and been faithless, He remains faithful. His grace is sufficient. His word is enough. His love covers a multitude of sin. His mercies were new again this morning. And everything I have committed to Him is safe. My dreams, my desires, my goals, my needs, my weaknesses, my strengths, my triumphs and tragedies, my past, present and future--all these things are well kept in the Almighty hand of God, and I know He will continue to faithfully keep them until the Day.