Daily Devotions
2 Timothy
"The Lord grant to him that he may find mercy..."
Text: 2 Timothy 1:18
DEEPLY IMPACTED
The heart of the Apostle Paul must have been deeply touched by the kindness that Onesiphorus showed to him. What a contrast he was to those who fled from him in his hour of need. Perhaps they fled because they were afraid to be implicated and may find themselves in jail with Paul. But not Onesiphorus! He boldly and unashamedly aligned himself with Paul, even if that meant imprisonment!
AN INTERESTING REPETION
Paul was deeply moved to repeat himself in asking for the Lord’s blessing of mercy on Onesiphorus!
“The Lord grant to him that he may find mercy from the Lord
in that Day- and you know very well how many ways
he ministered to me at Ephesus.”
2 Timothy 1:18
1. “The Lord”
a) In the same sentence Paul repeated the name of the Lord twice.
b) This was unusual.
c) The Lord’s name was invoked for emphasis!
2. “Mercy from the Lord”
a) This word “mercy” was used in 2 Timothy 1:16.
b) It was used in 2 Timothy 1:18.
c) Some reasons why this word was used in this manner.
i) The mercy of the Lord was something that Paul had experienced personally in his life
ii) It was an especially precious and personal blessing that he highly valued.
iii) The words “mercy” and “grace” featured greatly in Paul’s theological vocabulary.
iv) The prayer for God’s mercy would represent just about the best blessing Paul could wish.
3. “In that Day”
a) This is a reference to the Day when the Lord would judge.
b) The most needed blessing then would truly be the Lord’s “mercy”.