A Prayer for “Guarding What’s Been Entrusted to You”
By: Chelsey DeMatteis
“Guard the good deposit entrusted to you.” - 1 Timothy 6:20
Last summer, I spent a lot of time in the letters Paul wrote to the men he had trained up. Something really special about these letters continued to pierce my heart. The Lord continued to highlight to me the command over our lives to guard the deposits entrusted to us. To guard, yet actively be brave in Christ for the things He has given us.
Each time Paul mentions guarding what’s been given to Timothy, it’s attached to the call of living out his faith, standing firm in the truth that he knows, and serving where God has him. In Hebrew, the word entrust means: deposit, appoint, to remember. So, for us as Christ-followers, we must first seek to know what God has entrusted to us.
This means prayerfully asking God to open our eyes to see our world through a Kingdom perspective. For me personally, He revealed something I knew, yet hadn’t fully let sink in.
After giving our lives to Christ, we now have our testimony. This is the second most important story entrusted to us, other than the Gospel. God calls us to share the story He’s written for us. God has entrusted you and me to share the parts of our stories that He permits. Scripture confirms this many times, but my favorite example is in Revelation 12:11, “We conquer him by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimonies.” How amazing is this? The enemy is conquered because of Jesus’ sacrifice and our testimonies (God’s work within us).
Another example of testimonies that the Lord has used to encourage my heart is from Luke 2:15-16. This is where the angels appeared to the shepherds to announce the birth of Jesus. It says the shepherds looked at one another and said, “let us go.” They had no hesitation to move on behalf of the truth God had just entrusted to them.
Likewise, we are called to confidently trust the Lord. God was faithful then and He is still faithful now. Leading, directing, and nudging us to move on behalf of the truth He shares with us.
Living with the perspective that everything given to us is something “entrusted to us” by God will change the way we live. It will remove pride and entitlement from our hearts. It will remind us that we serve a God who wants us to know us more and make Him known. This is a beautiful thing.
As you and I live with hearts guarding God’s truth, boldly pursuing our faith, and bravely sharing His truth let us remember this - that just like shepherds, Paul, and Timothy, we can trust where the Lord has us and we must lean into Him as He reveals the good things He has entrusted to us.
Pray with me…
Lord, today as I seek to live according to your word, open my eyes to see the people in my life as you see them. Remind me that these people are ones you’ve entrusted to me - even if only for a moment. I pray for a heart that lives boldly for you. Help me see my testimony as a gift to share with others who need your hope. Help me guard what has been entrusted to me – the good news of Christ Jesus, and how he has personally rescued and renewed me.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Chelsey DeMatteis is a wife, SAHM, devotional writer, and the host of the weekly aired Living With Less podcast, birthed from John 3:30. Chelsey loves serving in her local church ministries, but the greatest ministry she loves to watch unfold is the one that happens in her heart and in her home. You can find more about Chelsey at her website - www.ChelseyDeMatteis.com.
Related Resource: Jesus Calling - Stories of Faith
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Originally published Sunday, 28 November 2021.
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