“Take notice that your brother Timothy has been released, with whom, if he comes again, I shall see you.” (Hebrews 13:23 NASB)
Last week in our Bible Study classes we concluded our verse-by-verse study of The Book of Hebrews. When we go to the opening, included in the writer’s concluding benediction and exhortations in Hebrews, we ponder on what Timothy had been released from, especially since the bible does not include a report of Timothy’s imprisonment. We had many suggestions, but after our speculations, we came to a sure conclusion. That being that we have all been released from something. Think about it!
Of course, being believers in our Lord Jesus Christ, in our class, we acknowledged we had all been released from facing the penalty of sin, which is death. We confirmed that we will all be released from the turmoil of this place one of these days and we shall experience eternal life in a better place.
Prompted to think how the Lord has released each of us from a variety of things, I inquired, “Hasn’t the Lord released you from something?” I inquired, but I was not doing any investigation or trying to initiate open testimonies. My purpose for asking the question was so each of us would take an introspective look at how we have experienced “the release.” No, I did not ask the individual participants in any of the classes to identify all that the Lord had released them from. Still, they willingly admitted that the Lord had released them from something or somethings. The latter is usually the case, right? We know about “the release.”
Permit me to do the same with you today. Let me inquire. What has the Lord released you from? You have experienced “the release” in your life, so just take a minute and think about all the times that the Lord released you. Surely you have been released from something that was imprisoning you. I am fairly sure that the Lord released you from the flesh having control over you. While we face no literal fiery furnace or any lions’ dens, through the grace of God, we have been released from fire-like situations and released from the places where the jaws of adversity or even prosperity were ready to cause us serious harm. We know about “the release.” And has not the Lord released you from the control sin-enticing snares and the sinful seductions of our enemies, meaning self, the secular world, and Satan? When the Lord dried your tears, you experienced “the release.” When He assured you that life is worth living and better is just ahead, you experienced “the release.” When anxiety was like an anchor weighing you down, but you followed the advice to see ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, you experience, “the release.” Didn’t you?
I’m not trying to sneak in your private life, I’m just trying to stimulate your thinking, my friend, in regard to “the release” as it applies to you. So, let’s continue. When you were in the grip of grief, did the Lord not bring you joy eventually? That was “the release.” When He changed your ways by showing you a better way, that was “the release” too. I could go on, but let me stop right here and encourage you, still being the time of the year where we focus on truly being thankful and let me encourage you to pause at some point in the day and render thanks for the Lord, mindful of every time He was the One who brought about “the release” in your life, time after time after time. As a matter of fact, since He is still perfecting the work He begin in you, I can safely say that He is still providing you with what we refer to as “the release” as He works on you along this sanctification journey, a journey where you seek perfection and achieve excellence. This is true for all of us. Give some more thanks this Wednesday morning for every Divine orchestrated release that comes to your mind. Give thanks and celebrate in your soul! Enjoy a wonderful day and watch some more of “the released” experiences. Walk in the light! Be blessed!
“If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That’s to prevent anyone from confusing God’s incomparable power with us. As it is, there’s not much chance of that. You know for yourselves that we’re not much to look at. We’ve been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we’re not demoralized; we’re not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we’ve been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn’t left our side; we’ve been thrown down, but we haven’t broken. What they did to Jesus, they do to us—trial and torture, mockery, and murder; what Jesus did among them, he does in us—he lives! Our lives are at constant risk for Jesus’ sake, which makes Jesus’ life all the more evident in us. While we’re going through the worst, you’re getting in on the best!” (2 Corinthians 4:8-12 The Message Bible)
Committed to the climb,
Mark L. King