Lesson 23: Enduring in doing the right thing
2 Timothy 1:13-18 - www.bible.com/bible/59/2ti.1

13 Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
14 By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.
15 You are aware that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes.
16 May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains,
17 but when he arrived in Rome he searched for me earnestly and found me—
18 may the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that Day!—and you well know all the service he rendered at Ephesus.

There is a part of each of us which sometime, because of boredom or anger or frustration, wants to do something we know is not right or wise. Sometimes we tell ourselves it’s just to get attention, and sometimes to find out if we really could do something we call daring. But God says the excuse of “I was only joking” is not a valid excuse for hurting someone else (Proverbs 26:19). Hurting someone because we are bored or angry or even just following someone else’s example is never anything but sin.


Paul named three men in these verses who affected his life greatly. Two treated him badly because, for whatever reason, they abandoned Paul when he needed them. Were they afraid they were going to be put in prison as Paul was? Did they have someone who needed them at home? Did they just follow the example of others who thought there was nothing they could do for Paul while he was in prison? We don’t know. All we know is they didn’t do the right thing and so they hurt Paul greatly by deserting him (see Matthew 25:31-46).

The third man went out of his way to do what was right; he didn’t give up until he had found Paul and was able to encourage him with his perseverance. Paul’s blessing for this man tells us how greatly Paul appreciated what this third man had endured to be able to come to him.

Whenever we want to know what the right thing is to do, all we need is to ask Jesus and to follow His example. He never turned away someone who came to Him looking for help. He didn’t always give the person exactly what they were looking for and often gave them more than they could have imagined possible. But to those who needed Him, He was always patient and kind no matter how tired He was (read the Gospel of Mark).

God’s command to us in these verses is for us to do the loving thing for the other person, to do what is best for them without thinking about ourselves. The Holy Spirit in us will help us in knowing what the best thing to do is. With His help we can endure in doing what is right.

 *Can you think of times in Jesus’ life on earth when His closest friends denied and deserted Him? Who needs your help right now, even though giving that help will be costly to you? Will you follow Jesus’ and Onesiphorus’ example, and ask God to enable you to do the right thing?