"As I urged you when I went into Macedonia - remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine." (1 Timothy 1:3)
Timothy was the young protégé' of Paul the Apostle; Paul was a mentor to Timothy. Their warm relationship is illustrated in Paul's two letters to his associate. From this verse, we can see that Paul left Timothy in the city of Ephesus, where they had been serving together. It wasn't easy to serve the Lord and lead the church in Ephesus. It was one of the great cities of the ancient world and was noted as a religious and economic center. Ephesus had the famous temple to the goddess Diana and a thriving banking industry. There were many things, both spiritual and material, that would make it difficult for Timothy to stand strong for the true message of God as expressed in the gospel.
Even though Timothy had a tough job, Paul wanted him to "remain in Ephesus" and not give up.
Paul would not have said this to Timothy if there were not some kind of pressure for him to
leave. Something pulled on Timothy to give up, to resign, to back off from the calling of spiritual leadership God gave him. Paul had to tell Timothy in consecutive terms not to give into that pull, and to pursue what God had for him instead.
God will allow us to be in difficult situations. We must set our minds to meet the challenge, or we will surely give up. Many years ago, this ad appeared in a newspaper: "Men wanted for hazardous journey, small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful. Honor and recognition in case of success." The ad, signed by the famous Arctic explorer, appeared in London and thousands of men responded.
They were willing to give their lives to a big, difficult mission if a great leader called them.
Timothy had a tough job, as do we - but who has called us? Who is our Leader? The Bible tells us: "The people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits" (Daniel 11:32).
Perhaps God has called you to stay faithful through a difficult situation when you would prefer to escape. Perhaps this week has been one of "those" weeks. You can find the strength to remain
where God wants you to remain, if you look for the strength, not in yourself, but in your God.
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