Verse of the Day for June 30

Paul tells Timothy to stir up the gift of God, which is in thee. The picture is of a fire that has burned low. The gift has not gone out. It just needs someone to blow on the embers.

Timothy seems to have been naturally timid, and Paul knew it. So he reminds him where the fire came from. by the putting on of my hands. It was given on a particular day, and the Giver has not taken it back.

Then the famous line. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear. Fear is real, but it is not what God gave. What he gave was power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Love sits between the other two, as if to keep power gentle and a sound mind warm.

Paul writes this as his prisoner, in chains. He is not asking Timothy to be brave from a comfortable distance. He is asking him to share in suffering according to the power of God, not according to his own reserves.

At the end of a long day, or at the end of this month, your fire may be low. That is normal. Before you sleep tonight, stir the embers. Thank God for one gift he has given you, and ask him to fan it again tomorrow.

A low fire is still a fire, and God's gift in you has not gone out.

Fear is real, but it is not what God gave you.