2 Timothy 4:18

And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for his heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen.
2 Timothy 4:18 NKJV
The fact the Paul makes this statement at the end of this letter is truly glorifying unto the Lord. This letter was written at the end of Paul’s life and at the end of his ministry. And if we know anything about Paul, we know that he suffered for the sake of the gospel. Aside from all the physical hardships that he suffered he also suffered endless issues from churches and fellow saints. So many issues that he felt responsible for and so many people that needed to hear from him. Not to mention all of the false teachers that not only tried to teach different doctrines but also tried to twist his. We also see how just several verses before this one that Paul even had fellow saints abandon him in perhaps his most desperate hour. These were Paul’s brothers, one of which was Titus, who received a letter from Paul that was placed in the bible right after this second letter that was written to Timothy. So much crisis that was in Paul’s life. Enough to turn away most people if they were told that they would have to suffer this much as a Christian. “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the face, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing” - 2 Timothy 4:6-8. It is worth it! All the pain, the suffering, the crap that Paul had to deal with, it was worth it. And not only was it worth it, but the Lord was protecting Him the whole time, and was allowing Him to be used to Christ’s glory. And that’s probably exactly what Timothy needed to hear. I don't know how young he was, but Timothy probably had a lot of life left in him, and probably was having doubts about if serving God was really worth all the suffering. And I at times find myself asking the same question every once in a while. But as I have come to found, just like Paul did, the answer is always yes, it was more than worth it, and the Lord kept me safe through it all. Recently I went through a lot of emotional suffering. I got to thank the Lord for it, but for the next week, I’m going to praise God for the moment of suffering, because I know that He was preserving me the whole time, and that the suffering was more than worth it.

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