This day with God, as we continue our journey through the Word in 2 Timothy 1:15 through 2:13, Paul writes to Timothy about those who have been loyal to the spreading of the gospel message and those who have been disloyal. Those who have been loyal to the Way will inspire, re-energize, and give a boost to keep stepping ahead. Paul refers this as being refreshed and we should strive to do the same for each other today!

There are three metaphors used in this passage to describe the Christian walk. The first is a good soldier of Christ. We are to please the commanding officer only and not worry so much about our own wishes and the wishes of others. The second metaphor used is being an athlete. To receive the crown, an athlete must compete by the rules. The third metaphor used is a farmer whose crop flourishes because of the hard work put in from planting to cultivating to reaping.

Paul is motivated by his faith in God’s complete deliverance in the end with the reward of eternal life in paradise. He desires that others gain this increase in faith through getting the message out about Christ to as many people as he can. We should desire to do the same and go the extra mile to help get God’s work done.

As brought out in today’s passage, an athlete that runs a race has to compete by the rules. A runner in a race goes the same distance as the other runners to win the prize. Let us be committed to finishing the race and never giving up but persistently heading toward the finish line.

This day with You Lord, refresh us with new energy to finish the race strong. Help us to know where we are, gain a vision to step ahead, and go places beyond where we’ve ever gone before. There is always new growth in our spiritual life that leads to new places of joy and hope. Your Way provides us with a destiny that leads to abundance and purpose. Amen.