Monday, September 5, 2022
- Vessels of Comfort
- Sep 5, 2022
- 2 min read
You know that everyone in the province of Asia has deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes. May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he searched hard for me until he found me. May the Lord grant that he will find mercy from the Lord on that day! You know very well in how many ways he helped me in Ephesus.
2 Timothy 1:15-18
Have you ever had a really rough day? It seems like everything that could go wrong went wrong. Or, have you had a really bad season when it seems like your life was falling apart?
Paul was in the midst of a ministry with much opposition. In 2 Corinthians 11:21-33, Paul lists his sufferings. He talks about beatings, imprisonments, being close to death, being stoned, shipwrecked, enduring stormy waters, suffering from robbers, and afflicted by both friend and foe. Paul’s ministry was marked by extreme difficulty.
It is no different in this passage of scripture when Paul shares about being deserted. He states that everyone in the province of Asia has deserted him, but he asks God for mercy to the household of Onesiphorus. This servant of God often refreshed him and was not ashamed of his chains. Paul takes it a step further by saying that Onesiphorus looked for him to refresh him.
Though most of us cannot understand this level of pain and difficulty, we know the power of refreshment. We know what it is like to be in a dark place and have someone seek you out to refresh you. Vine’s Expository Dictionary says that the New Testament word for refresh means to give intermission from labor; to give rest; refresh. The Old Testament word for refresh means to have room; find relief; support. This refreshment can come both from God and from others.
PRAYER: Lord, it’s been a rough season. So much is going on in our world, and I need to be refreshed. Let me find myself on my knees coming to you for the ultimate refreshment. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.
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