When Everyone Else Leaves
2 Timothy 4:16-18. 16 At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. 17 But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion’s mouth. 18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
You’ve been there. Facing something incredibly difficult, seemingly all alone. Or maybe not alone, but you feel alone. Paul, here, is writing from prison, and referring to a moment where he stood trial, perhaps in Rome, or maybe at some point earlier in his current imprisonment. Paul, the apostle who loved so many people so much that he gave his life to travel around building the church, and by building the church, build people. Yet in this moment, he stands (unjustly) accused. Now it’s one thing to be accused. It’s a whole other thing to be unjustly accused. But to be unjustly accused, and alone?
‘Surely,’ Paul must’ve thought, ‘someone is coming to help. And if not help, to encourage and pray for me.’ But they never did. So he stands, alone, to defend himself. To me, if I've shown up for you, and been a blessing the way Paul was to so many, and then you don’t come for me when I need it, I’m pretty sure that whatever I’d have had to say, it wouldn't have been “may it not be held against them.” How does someone get to the point of being completely abandoned in a moment of need, having been there for so many so often, and not holding a grudge at all?
I think the secret is verse 17. “But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength.” When you’re facing opposition, and you see that there’s no one else there, or that whoever is there may want to help, but the help needed is beyond their capacity, and then you see God step in, give you strength, provide for your need, and deliver you from the lion’s mouth, you realize: even when I’m alone, I'm not alone. God is with me, even when I look around and see no other help.
I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. (Psalm 121:1-2)
Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. (Psalm 20:7)
In fact, sometimes, when there is someone else there, at your side, or if there’s another rational explanation for how you can make it, it’s easy to miss God. Did God heal you, or was it the surgeon? Did God provide that money, or was it your investments? Did God give you that job, or was it your skillset? Was it God, or was it another logical possible reason? He’s still there, but amidst the other people and other factors, He’s easily, and often, overlooked. Now, there’s nothing wrong with God providing in ‘normal’ ways, and He often does. And really, seeing His hand in even the most minuscule areas of provision in your life is one of the great hallmarks of spiritual maturity. But sometimes, He allows the usual solutions to fail, and the usual suspects that are normally there to help you to disappear, so that you can see that they’re not your source.
I wonder, do you feel ‘alone’ in this battle because you are, or could it be that God allowed everyone else to fall away so that the only thing you could depend on is Him? I bet, like Paul, if you think back on it, you’ve seen God deliver you a time or two before this. This isn’t your first fight. This is just going to be another opportunity to say, like Paul does, that “the Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom.” The Lord. Not your spouse. Not your girl friends. Not your boys. Not your bank account, your health, your ability to create opportunities for yourself.
It’s as they say: when He becomes all you have, you realize that He’s all you need.