All For Love by MOPS InternationalSample

DAY 3: Understanding What God Gave Us

The opposite of love is fear. Fear drives so many of our thoughts and decisions. It is a potent emotion that causes us to do and say things that are out of alignment with who we want to be. It causes us to act in anger. Fear can make us timid and preoccupied; it might control our thoughts and keep us up at night or hold us back from forming deep friendships because we are afraid of being vulnerable. Fear keeps us stuck, but perfect love casts out fear.

In 2 Timothy 1:1-11, Paul is talking to his disciple, Timothy. Our focus verse today is 2 Timothy 1:7: For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. 

Verse 8 begins with the word “therefore.” Therefore is our signal that the author is about to clarify something important, so we should pause and consider what came before in the light of what is coming next. 

Because of everything Paul said in the previous verses - because of Timothy’s sincere faith (v. 5), because of the gifts God has given and the task Timothy has been called to (v. 6), because we don’t have a spirit of fear, because we have power, love and self-control (v. 7) - do not be ashamed of the gospel (v. 8). 

Throughout this letter, we see Paul’s sense of urgency about the gospel, the Good News of Jesus.  Paul wanted to be sure that Timothy didn’t let anything get in the way of sharing the Good News. 

Do you feel that same sense of urgency to share the gospel with those around you? If not, what is slowing you down? For many of us, what gets in our way is fear. Paul addresses fear with Timothy in our focus verse. Let’s look at it word by word.   

• For God gave … What Paul is talking about were not things that Timothy was born with or that he earned. What Paul is mentioning are things given to us by God.  
• For God gave us … Paul wasn’t talking just to Timothy. He was talking to himself and to future believers. We have all felt fear and anxiety -- all the things that slow us down and get in our way.   
• For God gave us a spirit not of fear … Timothy had a lot to fear. The political and spiritual climate was fraught with danger and hostility, but Paul reminds Timothy, and us, that we shouldn’t let that stop us. How often do we hesitate, or avoid, saying or doing the right thing because we are paralyzed by fear? We avoid the right thing because of what someone else may think or because we think we might fail. Fear is a normal human emotion, but this kind of fear isn’t from God. Keep reading, because God gave us something bigger than fear.   
• For God gave us a spirit not of fear but … The word “but” is a contrast word. Here, Paul is contrasting what God did not give us with what He did.  
• For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power … In Greek, the word for power is dunamis - where we get the English word dynamite. That is a lot of power! God grants us the power to carry out whatever He calls us to.    
• For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love … Without love, we are nothing but a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. In 1 John 4, John says, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear … We love because he first loved us.” In Greek, this type of love is called agape. Agape is not emotional or conditional. It is bold, sacrificial and constant. This type of love is illustrated in the life of Jesus, and we are called to give this type of love to others.    
• For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control … This does not mean that we, as Christians, should never struggle with anything like anxiety, nervousness, or failure. However, it does mean that we should not be slaves to our emotions. John MacArthur said, “God-given discipline allows believers to control every element of their lives, whether positive or negative. It allows them to experience success without becoming proud and to suffer failure without becoming bitter or hopeless. The disciplined life is the divinely ordered life, in which godly wisdom is applied to every situation.”   

Remember, none of this is innate. It’s not born within us; it is given to us by God. We are given power to be effective, love to have the right attitude toward others, and self-control to focus and live every part of our lives in a way that pleases God. 

CONSIDER THIS:   

• Do I have a sense of urgency to share the gospel with those around me? If not, what is slowing me down?   
• How has God shown me his power? What has he called me to?   
• When was the last time I showed bold, sacrificial love to someone else?   
• Would I describe myself as self-controlled? If not, how can I adjust my priorities to move closer to that?