Bible Reading: II Timothy 4:1-10
In other words, Demas had become deterred. It did not happen overnight. It was a process. Being deterred is always a process. Achan saw and then coveted. Then he took. Lot looked at Sodom. He then pitched his tent towards Sodom. Then he moved into Sodom. So it was with Demas.
In Philemon, Demas was called “fellow-laborer.” In Colossians 4:14, Paul simply mentioned his name, and then in II Timothy, he was mentioned as having “forsaken” Paul. The love for the world deterred him and kept him from moving forward.
It was 1804. Napoleon Bonaparte stared with frustration across the English Channel towards his nemesis. Behind him was the invincible Grande Armee, nearly 200,000 crack veterans all straining at the leash to crush the hated English. Everything was ready for the invasion: the transport barges, the escort fleet, ammunition, cavalry, artillery, ambulance wagons, and even field bakeries. Every last detail had been meticulously planned. It was merely a matter of crossing the 28 miles of water in a single night’s journey. Yet for month after month Napoleon paced the beach at Boulogne, hesitating to act. Finally, after over a year of waiting, he suddenly turned his huge army around and marched it into the heart of Europe. The plan to invade England was laid aside forever. The thing that had stopped the great conqueror at the height of his career was the Royal Navy, Britain’s “wall of oak.” Out of sight, just over the horizon, it was nevertheless always foremost in Napoleon’s doubts. And though the future Emperor’s own fleet outnumbered the British, he dared not test it. That is the power of deterrence, that the true effectiveness of a strategic system is in the mind of the enemy.
What enemy is deterring you today? Is it fear, doubt, money, love for the world? What is it that has deterred you from your moving forward for God? Today would be a good day to start back on track – moving forward for God.
What to do:
✞ Judge yourself. Ask am I a servant of God more today than I was in the past. If not, you’ve been deterred. Get back on track.
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