Sensible #5 - 2 Timothy 1:15-18 - Difficulties come

¹⁵You know that everyone in the province of Asia has deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes.

¹⁶May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. ¹⁷On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he searched hard for me until he found me. ¹⁸May 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.

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Today was spent in Bray at the Church's Ministry of healing "Quiet Day" it is quite interesting as what I have written for todays reflection on the reading was written before the day started ...over a cuppa in the rectory but has some relation to what happened during it

I don't know about you but there are times and seasons - times of real growth and vitality in ministry, in relationships, in kingdom of God business and then thre are seasons where things are not going well at all. In this passage we see the extreme nature of this "you know that ... deserted me."

Paul does not claim anywhere that ministry, or the christian life in general is a bed of roses, that there would be nothing concern us, that it will be great the whole way through but rather there will be times of desert, times when friends will foresake us, times when we will throw up our hands and say "is it worth the hassle".

It is in such times when the difficulties come, when the barreness hits us that we have to hang in there, when we have to look to others as Paul did for the encouragement of believers who can strengthen and "refresh us".

There was many things which struck home with me on the quiet day today

firstly the need to listen to God - this may seem such a simple thing to say, especially for someone who is planning to spend His life working for him, but it is sooo important ... if we loose that closeness with the father all the rest of ministry may as well be lost.

Secondly, as this was the ministry of healing quiet day ... the need for healing is HUGE I was really struck by lots of things Baden had to say about his own self ... what he has struggled with and what God has been saying to him about the past and the things that make him him and me me and you you. There are things which are holding us back, things which are deeply programmed into us which are not healthy, memories from school days, things growing up, experiences we have had with relationships which are completely sub-conscious but which rise to the surface time and again which God really really wants to heal, wants to sort them out.

These are huge things, these things which are unnecessarily upon us but which we hide and we put on a facade, a mask to cover over but which in turn buries what is really going on ... mask over mask until we believe that we are who is being portayed rather than being real and open and honest.

Difficulties do and will come, who will be able to help us through them prayerfully and sensitively?

What sort of things are we masking?

Who do we know that needs refreshing today / this week ... how can we be there for them?