Begin with 2 minutes of silence and stillness before God.

Hardship and sacrifice are inherent to Christian life. When we encounter such challenges, we often want to cry out, “Lord, show me what I am supposed to do with this!”

In 2 Timothy 1:4-5, Paul comments on Timothy’s faith reminding him, “I remember your genuine faith, for you share the faith that first filled your grandmother Lois and your mother, Eunice. And I know that same faith continues strong in you.”

But when these hardships shake our faith, we must be faithful to remember that God is able to give us JOY in the midst of our suffering if we lean on Him.

How can JOY come to us in our time of suffering?

• God makes His presence known.
• He intercedes on our behalf.
• Drawing closer to Him increases the growth in our Christian walk.
• We are better able to empathize with our loss as we experience suffering as Christ did.
• This hardship engages us further and more closely within our church family.
• Finally, He displays His work in and through us to those who need to see.

It made Paul genuinely filled with JOY to remember the faith of faithful men like Timothy, who loved and served Jesus and His people.

Take 2 minutes to reflect in silence.

Reflection:

• Who were/are the Eunice’s and Lois’s in your life?  Were you born into a family that was known for their strong faith?  We all have such different stories. If not, who are some of the people that have influenced your faith?
• Have you personally walked through desperation and suffering? Did you experience God’s presence? How has your Christian walk changed as a result of this? 
• Prayer: Dear God, joy and suffering are two words that are not normally paired together. We are so thankful that when we do experience suffering of any kind we can find you near. You make yourself available to walk with us every step of the way. God, we thank You for loving us and growing us in all the ways. Amen. 

Family Devo: 2 Timothy 1

By: Kaylee Collins

When partnering with your family to know, love, and follow Jesus, we strive to create and share content filtered by the Head-Heart-Hands model.  

Head: the knowledge of God and His Word | Heart: the personal connection from scripture | Hands: a missional mindset  

Head

In today’s reading, Paul is encouraging Timothy to continue to tell others about Jesus and to have genuine faith no matter what happens. Paul was chosen by God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus and is currently in prison due to his faith. Even though Paul is in prison, he is not ashamed and tells Timothy not to be ashamed either. Paul teaches us that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but he gives us a spirit of power, love, and self-discipline. This means that no matter what we are going through, God will be there to guide us and give us strength.  

Heart

Being a prisoner of war sounds very scary, but Paul kept his faith in God and continued to encourage Timothy through writing despite the punishment he was facing. When was the last time you felt fear and what steps did you take to overcome this fear? Did you try to fix it on your own or did you allow God to guide you and walk through that fear with you? Everyone gets scared from time to time, but it is important to recognize that fear does not come from God, rather He gives us power and strength by trusting in Him.  

Hands

Reflect on a time when God gave you strength and helped you through a difficult season of life. A song that I think reflects this message is "Shoulders" by For KING & COUNTRY.

Prayer: Dear God, thank You for helping us through the tough times in life. Help us to rely on You in difficult times and not on ourselves or the things of this world. Help us to fully trust in You and the plan that You have for our lives. For our strength comes not from our own understanding, but from You who created us. Amen.