Titus 2
By Pastor Steve
Endure the Wait
Have you ever noticed just how difficult waiting can be? When we have to wait for news from the Doctor concerning tests, we can become very agitated and sometimes short in our interactions with others. When we have to wait to find out information concerning a job or an opportunity, we can become extremely anxious and sometimes unbearable to be around until we have that tidbit of news we are waiting to hear. Then if the news is not what we desire to hear, out attitudes can be difficult at best.
Have you ever waited for an answer from the Lord or sought out specific direction from the Lord concerning an important issue in your life? Sometimes that answer does not come very fast and that wait can cause us to think that God’s silence and the long wait is an answer that means “God does not care about me!”
When Paul was writing to Pastor Titus, he was instructing Titus to encourage the flock under his care concerning the wait and what it takes to live a life of devotion. Paul said:
“For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.” Titus 2:11-14
Paul told Titus that we live in a world that is filled with ungodly passions that will interfere with the blessed hope we have in Christ Jesus. We may have to wait for the blessed hope we have in Christ, but we do not have to fall victim to the ungodly temptations of this evil world while we wait!
I believe that if we are willing to cry out to the Lord concerning those worldly passions that attempt to destroy our devotion, He will teach us how to say NO to ungodly passions. When God’s people are honest about struggles, God is quick to deliver us from ungodly behavior and desires. Allow me to encourage you, when ungodly temptations rear their ugly head before you, don’t wait to seek the power of the Lord to provide deliverance from the temptation and the freedom God offers. Seek Him and He will help you live a godly life in an ungodly world.
