But the Lord stood by me………..

“Alexander the coppersmith did me great wrongs. The Lord will pay him back for his actions.

Beware of him yourself, for he opposed and resisted our message very strongly and exceedingly.

At my first trial no one acted in my defense [as my advocate] or took my part or [even] stood with me, but all forsook me. May it not be charged against them!

But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the [Gospel] message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was delivered out of the jaws of the lion.

 [And indeed] the Lord will certainly deliver and draw me to Himself from every assault of evil.  He will preserve and bring me safe unto His heavenly kingdom. To Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen (so be it).   II Timothy 4:14-18  AMP

Have you been in a situation in which you were being attacked by others, and people that you thought would speak up and say something on your behalf just remained silent trying to avoid eye contact with you?

Imagine being the Apostle Paul for just a moment. Here is a man that has risked his life time and time again to get the gospel to people who have never heard about Jesus Christ.

People are continually telling him how much they love and appreciate him and are grateful for what he is doing. They know that without all the sacrifices Paul had personally made to reach them, they may have never come to faith in Jesus Christ.

Then comes the day when Paul is arrested for preaching the gospel.

Paul is put into a hideous, dark dungeon.  He probably thanks God for the brothers and sisters in Christ that he can count on for their love and support at his trial.

When the trial starts, Paul is shocked at what he sees in the courtroom. He was alone as he stood there before Nero. No one came to his defense.

You can almost sense the pain in his voice in verse 16.

“At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me.  May it not be held against them.”

It’s when you have been betrayed or forsaken - abandoned in your time of need by those closest to you. Talk about a painful and lonely place to be.

Have you ever been there…..deserted, betrayed, rejected, left to face hard times and pain alone?   You discover those who are true and those who are all talk……..actions speak louder than words. 

Rejection hurts no matter who you are. In whatever form of rejection you have experienced ---you know the kind of pain that Paul experienced.

Forgiveness and the love of God will help you overcome and accomplish all God has called you to do.

Do you know how encouraging just one person speaking up would have been to Paul?  He stood alone. Where were the people who could have said, ’this man is telling the truth because Jesus changed my life?’

The silence and the absence of witnesses are not due to a desire to betray Paul, but rather a fear of what might happen to them if they sided with the truth.  How many of us have been there, where we know if we say something or get involved there’s going to be a price to pay, and we’re not willing to pay that kind of a price.

It is at such times when we are forced to take a stand that we find ourselves seemingly all alone.  It is true that when the “chips are down”, so to speak, people will desert us and we may find ourselves standing all alone.  

In all honesty, it is almost always the case that when we have to take a stand we are, by all appearances, outnumbered, if not totally alone. It is at such times as these that you find out who your friends truly are.

The apostle had come upon one of these times here. And he takes this opportunity to show us by example, a truth that should carry us through whatever may come our way.

“But the Lord stood by me……..”

Praises be to God that, though we fail Him daily and often, though we forget Him at times, and His Word and His Blessings, He is still here with us.  He will NEVER leave us nor forsake us.

It is true.  We all fail God at times, yet He has never, nor shall He ever fail us.