12b I know the one in whom I’ve placed my trust. I’m convinced that God is powerful enough to protect what he has placed in my trust until that day. 13 Hold on to the pattern of sound teaching that you heard from me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 14 Protect this good thing that has been placed in your trust through the Holy Spirit who lives in us.
Reflection
There are many times when we will have to entrust someone or something that we care very much for into the hands of someone else.
You feel this when your child needs a medical procedure. You feel this when you hire an attorney to represent your case in court. You might feel this when you transition out of job, if it’s a team or a cause that you really care about.
When these types of handoffs happen, we often find ourselves freaking out a little. We worry whether the person receiving the handoff has the necessary skills to do the job. Even more, we may find ourselves wondering whether they CARE in all the same ways we do.
One of the ways humans manage our anxiety and feel safe is by doing things that help us exercise control. But letting go necessarily means turning control over to someone else. It’s a difficult thing to do, but in some cases we have no choice. You might be tempted to tell the attorney how to practice law, but you’re certainly not going to tell the surgeon where to cut. Sometimes, it’s just out of our hands.
This passage from 2 Timothy reminds us that when it’s out of our hands, its in God’s hands.
Here, Paul is offering advice to a young person still finding his footing in the faith. Fully aware of the death that awaits him, Paul has to entrust Timothy to God. He expresses his full trust that the same God who is holding him is holding Timothy too, and will not let him falter.
He has only two tiny bits of advice for Timothy: Hold fast to what I’ve taught you and count on God to do the rest. That’s it.
I love that here “trust” is thought of as something received – that we must guard and protect (think about what it means to be a “trustee” of a church or university). And it is also a statement of where your faith lies (“I know the one in whom I’ve placed my trust”).
The idea is that yes – something precious was given to me. But I turned around and gave it to someone even more powerful, more trustworthy, more faithful, more steadfast. I gave it to God.
That’s how Paul looks at all the love and care he’s shown Timothy – “Lord, you gave him to me. And as an act of faith, I gave him back to you.” There is no greater faith than trusting the ones you love into the hands of God.
by Joe Monahan
For Pondering and Prayer
When do you most struggle to let go of control? Is there one thing you can turn over to God today?
Prayer: Lord, we so much want to be in control of everything, including the people in our lives. Remind us today that perhaps the highest form of faith is entrusting those we love into your hands. You gave them to us, and we are grateful. Today, we offer them to you, relinquishing our need to control or manage them, trusting that you can care for them even better than we can. Amen.
