“Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us. This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me; of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes. The Lord give mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus; for he oft refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain: But, when he was in Rome, he sought me out very diligently, and found me.” – 2 Timothy 1:13-17 KJV
There’s something about this passage that could easily be overlooked: Paul was not only demonstrating how committed he was to Jesus Christ—being willing to be imprisoned for preaching the gospel, he was also expressing emotional pain as he reflected on how certain people whom he knew had turned away from him. Indeed, Paul was going through one of the darkest times of his life. Those who knew him personally should have been by his side offering him their support, but they shamelessly turned away from him. It’s likely that they did this because they didn’t like something about his message. It was as if they had thrown him out of their lives like yesterday’s trash; and Paul was obviously deeply hurt by this.
Perhaps you are in a situation similar to this, abandoned by those whom you believed loved you at one time, because you have taken a strong stand to follow Jesus Christ. You might even be feeling hurt thinking about it right now. Well, you may have been abandoned by some, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t people who are willing to go out of their way to express their love for you and what you stand for. The Scriptures tell us that all those in Asia turned away from Paul and his message, but Onesiphorus did not abandon him; instead, he sought him out “very diligently” to express his love for him. What a wonderful thought it is to know that someone would actually seek you out zealously during your darkest hour to let you know that you are loved–to let you know that you are not alone. Oh if only we would be so committed to one another we would see wonders unfold before our eyes!
Don’t be surprised when people turn away from you because you have taken a strong stand for Jesus to do what is right. Even people who claim to be Christians will behave in such a manner. Satan will try to get you to give up on God by making you feel like you are all alone; he wants you to think that no one cares about you. In fact, he may even influence people who are close to you to turn away from you, with the intent to cause you to think that you are doing something wrong. For he wants you to compromise your integrity, that he may maintain some kind of control over you. But be cautious! Test every action by the Scriptures. If the works that have caused people to turn away from you find their basis in God’s word then you have nothing to be ashamed of.
The nature of our circumstances and how people respond to us do not measure the true value of our work; rather, our commitment to living in complete conformity to the Word of God is what determines true value. Those who turn away from you because they don’t like what you are doing for God are the ones who ought to be ashamed, not you. And one day they will stand before God and give an account for the pain that they have caused others for being self centered. For when they should have stayed by your side and offered their support to you they turned away from you instead. Such people really don’t want the truth as it is in Jesus, but a cheap gospel with a shallow message. Be not discouraged by them. For Jesus is with you; and those of us who are your real brothers and sisters in the faith are with you too, in spirit and in truth (John 4:23). You are not alone.
