Exposition
The Apostle Paul in the text admonishes his son in the Lord, Timothy, to endure hardships that come his way. To endure is more than just continuing to exist; It is continuing to exist in the same manner as before the suffering began. 2 Timothy contains the poignant testimony of the Apostle Paul, who says his life is “being poured out like a drink offering” and the time of his death had come (2 Timothy 4:6).
In fact, there was no better man than Paul to give advice about endurance under suffering for the Lord Jesus. Paul had been imprisoned, beaten, stoned, shipwrecked, hungry, cold, and destitute. In spite of all these and more, he managed to endure the suffering, finished the race and kept the faith. He didn’t allow what he was going through to diminish his faith in the Lord. He endured all sufferings with a certain kind of joy in his heart.
Child of God, If Paul had, at some point in his sufferings, thrown up his hands in defeat, stopped being obedient to God, or no longer worked for the cause of Christ, he would not have been victorious at the end. Also, if he had responded to his sufferings with an attitude of bitterness, anger, or retaliation, then Paul could not have said that he endured. In the same way, we need to cultivate the attitude of Paul’s endurance in times of hardship, sufferings, challenges and problems by remaining focused and trusting in God. We ought to avoid bitterness, anger and blasphemous statements.