Think About It

2 Timothy 2:1-10

Verse 7  Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.

    As we have been learning all week, listening is more than just hearing, it is acting upon what we have heard.  Today we look at one more, frequently ignored aspect of listening – reflecting.

    While listening and then obeying is great, it falls flat if we move forward in life forgetting all we have learned through the experience.  One of the reasons we tend to forget what He may have been teaching us, is that we don’t reflect on it.  The importance of reflecting comes from our need to remember that what happens in this life isn’t all about us and it isn’t all about life on this earth.

    When we view life as all about the years we have to live and fulfill all we think we need to, we miss the picture that God is looking at.  Part of abiding is listening to God so that we can start seeing some things from His point of view.  When we are listening and obeying, the work He is doing in our life will have an impact on those around us and those that will follow.  Paul had been like a spiritual dad for Timothy and Paul often referred to Timothy as his son.  Paul knew that by living the way he did, he was showing Timothy how to live.  Notice how in our key verse Paul tells Timothy to reflect so that Lord could give Timothy insight.

    This is what reflection can do for us, too.  When we take time to mull over what God said to us and how listening and living out obedience moved our life forward, we can start seeing His bigger plan.  Maybe it is seeing that our children have noticed our bowing our head to pray when we get frustrated and have started doing the same thing themselves.  Maybe it is noticing that the difficult coworker has started being kinder since we have started obeying God by showing them love.  When we start reflecting on the changes that God is doing in us, we will also start seeing how He is using it around us.

    Reflecting can also keep us from making the same mistakes over and over.  When we ponder the things that we have learned from listening and obeying, we will find ourselves not falling into the same traps of temptation every time they come along.  Because the truth is that just because we are listening and obeying doesn’t mean that temptations will disappear from our lives.  In fact, when we are obeying God, the enemy doesn’t like it and we may find ourselves stumbling across more temptations in life.  But if we are reflecting on what God is doing in our lives, we will be more on guard when the enemy tries to trip us.

Making It Personal

    How often do you reflect on what God is doing in your life?  Can you see the significance of some of the things obeying God has taught you?  What is something that you should reflect on today that will help you grow spiritually?

Making It Personal Kids

    What does it mean to reflect on something?  Have you learned something from God through listening to Him?  What has God taught you that you should think about often?

Closing Prayer

    Father, thank You for giving us opportunities to learn from You.  You have so much that You are doing, thank You for letting us participate in Your work.  In Jesus’ name, amen.