If No One Else Will Stand by You, The Lord Will Come to Your Assistance At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge. - 2 Timothy 4:16 It is a heart-rending experience when friends let you down or when someone you thought to be faithful disappoints you. If this has ever happened to you, you know how upsetting this kind of situation can be. Yet this is precisely what happened to Paul. If you have ever felt betrayed by someone you loved, you should relate very well to the words the apostle Paul wrote in Second Timothy 4:16. Paul is referring to the time he stood before the Roman imperial court to be tried for the first time. In that moment when he needed friends to testify in his defense, Paul turned to see who would testify on his behalf - only to discover that every one of his friends had walked out and abandoned him. Now as Paul writes to Timothy to encourage him to stand strong in his own ordeal, he recalls that extremely difficult time when those close to him chose to walk away. Paul says, At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge. The word answer is the Greek word apologia, which is a compound of the words apo and logos. In this case, the word apo means back, and the word logos is the Greek word for a word. When compounded, it means to answer back and depicts a reply, a response, or an answer. It was the old word used to describe a court trial where the accused was given an opportunity to respond to the charges brought against him. Paul says, At my first answer no man stood with me.… The word stood comes from the Greek word paraginomai. It is a technical term used to describe a witness who stands forward in a court of law to support a prisoner. By selecting this word, Paul makes his point clear: When he desperately needed the support of fellow believers, not one single friend stood forward to testify in his defense. When he turned and looked to see who would be his witness, all his friends were gone! In fact, Paul goes on to say, …But all men forsook me…. The word forsook in Greek is from the word egkataleipo, which is a compound of the words ek, kata, and leipo. The word ek means out; the word kata means down; and the word leipo means to leave or to forsake. But when all three of these words are joined to form a triple-compound word, the new word carries the idea of walking out on someone; leaving someone in a terrible condition; abandoning a person at the worst possible moment; and deserting a person in the most terrible way. In other words, it conveys the idea of abandonment. By using this wretched word, Paul is saying, Not only did they not come forward to support me and stand with me - they walked out on me and abandoned me at the worst possible moment! Youd think these horror stories would have made Paul bitter; however, there isnt a trace of bitterness in the apostle. He has learned a marvelous secret: When no one else will stand with you, the Lord will always come forward to stand alongside you, support you, and help you. Continuing in verse 17, Paul says, Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. First, Paul says, …The Lord stood with me…. This word stood is the Greek word paristemi, which means to stand by ones side. By using this word, Paul tells you that Jesus Christ is not ashamed of any faithful soldier. When no one else will come to your aid, Jesus Christ is always there to rescue you. Jesus will step forward to assist you and defend you when your friends and family have all bailed out! Second, Paul says the Lord strengthened him. The word strengthened in the Greek is endunamoo, which always refers to an empowerment or an inner strengthening. It is a compound of the words en and dunamis. The word en means in. The word dunamis means explosive strength, ability, and power. Its where we get the word dynamite. Thus, this word endunamoo presents the picture of an explosive power that is being deposited into some type of container, vessel, or other form of receptacle. The very nature of this word endunamoo means that there necessarily must be some type of receiver into which this power can be deposited. What does this tell us? In that moment when Paul felt so abandoned, he received a supernatural infilling of divine power that literally super-charged him to bravely and victoriously face one of the most difficult times in his life. The moment Paul discovered he had no friends to lean on was the exact moment that the power of God filled him anew and made him supernaturally strong for the ordeal he was facing. This was good news for Timothy - and for every other believer who ever feels abandoned and let down by friends. If anyone needed to be reminded that the Lord would stand by him and strengthen him in the midst of every crisis, it was Timothy. The young minister desperately needed a fresh infilling of Gods power so he could victoriously walk through the ordeal that lay before him. Just as God supernaturally strengthened Paul at a time when the apostle felt hurt and betrayed, God promised to do the same for Timothy in his hour of need. And God hasnt changed; He is still not a respecter of persons. If He did it for Paul and Timothy, He will do the same for you today! Are you facing a disturbing situation today? Has something happened to make you feel lonely and abandoned by those you thought would be faithful to stand by your side? If this is the case, its time for you to ask Jesus to stand by your side. If you will ask Him for help, He will step forward to assist you, befriend you, and fill you with the power you need to victoriously conquer this difficult time in your life. So why dont you go ahead and ask the Lord to help you today?
Posted on: Tue, 03 Dec 2013 04:13:57 +0000