2008-09-06 - Summer Questions

2008 #9.2 ~ A Trustworthy Statement, Part 2

1 Timothy 4:8, 9, For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life, and the life to come. This is a trustworthy saying, that deserves full acceptance.

Today's Question: “I find peace a very hard thing to come by. I suffer from depression, OCD, and anxiety and I know God loves me, but sometimes it's hard to understand why people like me suffer.”

The above passage is the second of Paul's four “trustworthy statements.” Keeping in good health, as best as we are able, has some value - and no one would deny this. Paul helpfully takes this a step further, and while admitting that we should seek to be in good health, godliness is much better. Physical health can only last for so long, but godliness has advantages both in this life and in the life to come. In some respects, we ought to strive for both, but godliness is of such a value, and so outweighs exercise and the upkeep of our body, that the two can't even be compared. Godliness gives us advantages both in this life and in the life to come.

A godly life is certainly one of the surest ways to have peace in life. There is little peace when the conscience is haunted by sin. William Gurnall, a writer of bygone days, says, “Conscience is God's sergeant. He employs it to arrest the sinner.” Godliness is a great way to a clear conscience, and to having peace with God. Gurnall says in another place, “Peace of conscience is nothing but the echo of pardoning mercy.” The closer we draw to the Lord in communion and fellowship, and the more we cultivate a private life of prayer and consecration to the Lord, the greater our peace will be in all things of life. Union with Christ is a great bond for every believer. Each of us have this fellowship to a greater or lesser degree, but the key to knowing peace with Christ, and experiencing it in our lives, is to cultivate godliness. “But godliness actually is a means of great gain, when accompanied by contentment,” 1 Timothy 6:6.

Godliness, as our verses say, holds promise for today and for the future. Do you seek to know how to have a great life today? Follow Christ with all your heart, mind and soul. Godliness is profitable for everything. It gives us a great life now, and it promises a great life forever, even for eternity. Godliness often brings us good things in this life. However, the promise here in 1 Timothy 4 is one that transcends this life. The promise is greater than this life, and this is the trustworthy statement: Godliness does us double good. It does us good in this life and in the life to come. Seek to know God's love more deeply. Seek to be in closer fellowship with Him, and the blessings secured now will only be a down payment on those superior things that God has planned for you unto eternity.

Soli Deo Gloria,
T-

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http://www.cfdevotionals.org

Editor's Note: The questions in this series are stated in the exact form sent by the readers - unedited, unproofed, in order to remain true to the reader's original wording.