The End is Just the Beginning
The month of May marks the end of an era for many students. During this month, students from high school to various higher education institutions will graduate. Graduation marks a moment of transition in the life of an individual.
This event celebrates the ending of a journey and opens the door to new horizons and opportunities. The moment of transition brings joy, excitement, nervousness, and anxiety as the changing of chapters in one’s life occurs.
In 2 Timothy 1:7, the apostle Paul wrote words of encouragement to a young minister named Timothy.
These words continue today to speak truth into people’s lives as they navigate life. Paul wrote, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but one of power, love, and sound judgment.”
In celebrating this moment in our graduates’ lives, may four truths from this passage be claimed for the journey ahead.
First, do not journey with a spirit of fear. Paul used a word for fear that meant “cowardice or timidity.”
The overarching truth indicates that the Lord does not lead one to a place that the individual is unequipped for the task. Thus, the Lord does not give one the spirit of timidity. Instead, the believer receives the call to boldness.
The boldness is not based in one’s own giftedness or ability, but instead rest in who God is. Thus, followers of Christ face new journeys with the truth that the Lord does not give us a spirit of timidity.
When Paul writes concerning cowardice, it should remind the believer of the importance of trusting in the Lord. Cowardice is marked by the surrendering to the unknown or worst-case scenario that paralyzes one from taking the step of obedience.
Since God does not give us a spirit of cowardice, such a feeling manifests from the ways of the flesh and the uncertainty that the unknown brings. Thus, as a believer, one faces the ending of one moment in life and the opening of another with certainty and not cowardice.
Second, journey with a spirit of power.
The spirit of power responds to the spirit of fear by providing the needed resource to overcome the temptation of fear and the ability to live in faithfulness.
The spirit of power means that the Lord provides a believer the strength needed to follow his leading.
During the times of transition, the Lord gives the believer the needed strength to endure. Likewise, the spirit of power enables followers of Christ to carry out the will of God no matter how large or terrifying the task may seem.
The Lord provides His children with the ability to speak in boldness the truth of who he is and to service Him faithfully even in the difficulty. The strength of the Lord is unlike the strength of humanity. God’s power never fails or weakens. Thus, believers face the end and the new beginning with the certainty of God’s power.
Third, journey with a spirit of love. The counter to love is selfishness. If one seeks to live with a selfish mentality, the focus in life will center on the loss of prestige, power, and money.
The intention of serving the Lord will be driven by what one receives out of it and not out of genuine service.
But the Lord provides the availability for the journey ahead to engage the journey with a spirit of love. The spirit of love has genuine passion for the salvation of the lost and for the serving of the Lord.
The love the Lord gives does not flow from opinion or perspective but comes from the Lord and His presence in one’s life.
Fourth, journey with a spirit of sound judgment. Graduation brings moments of decisions. Decisions of what is next in one’s life often dominate the narrative upon one’s graduation.
The ability to discern authentically comes from the Lord alone and not through the ways of humanity.
The term used means sober minded. Such a term means that one can discern the leading of the Lord and to identify the temptations that may exists.
Thus, the spirit of sound judgment allows one to remain calm and collected no matter what is faced in the journey.
To our graduates, congratulations. What lies ahead is a bright future. But in the words of the apostle Paul let me encourage you to engage the next adventure with a spirit of power, a spirit of love, and a spirit of sound judgment. These promises come as an extension of the presence of Christ in one’s life. So face the future by living in Christ, trusting in Christ, and relying on Christ.
