“that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” [2 timothy 3:17]
when i think about the word equipped, the picture of a navy seal in full kit comes to mind. now that’s a man who’s equipped for his task! he’s got everything he could ever need for his mission on him at all times, from his weapon, to his armor, to medical supplies or extra magazines, this guy has it all, he’s ready to do whatever he needs to do.
this is the picture that paul is trying communicate to us. when we see the value of scripture, when we dive into scripture and sit in God’s presence and we allow his word to shape and transform us, we are built up, prepared and equipped for every good work that God has called us to. God’s word is all that we need!
this is it! this is the point, this is the whole purpose of the entire passage that we’ve been studying. paul is trying to communicate to us the value of the word of God. so that we may, as children of God, be equipped for every good work that we’ve been called to.
this is the outworking of the gospel, we who were once enemies of God, have now been called to be his children! called to live for him and now, as his own, we’re called to do good works!
“for we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” [ephesians 2:10]
this passage is full of hope. we’re not left alone! God didn’t just save us and then send us out and say, “good luck!” no! quite the opposite, he has not only saved us, but now he’s given us everything we need to fulfill the call that he has on our lives. we have everything we need to fulfill all that he has called us to right here, in his word!
we have so much access to the word of God, yet the enemy takes so much joy in doing his best to distract us or to whisper lies to us that we don’t have what we need, that God hasn’t equipped us or that we should just go around scripture instead of going through it. those are lies!
stand strong and pray today that God would open your eyes to the value of his word. that you would see it as truly everything that you need for all that he has called you to. stand firm against the lies of the enemy that would try to devalue the precious treasure that is the very word of God, given to us so that we can now live as redeemed children of God and bring glory to his name.
~ josiah bridges