1 Timothy 1:12 Give thanks

1 Timothy 1:12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service.

Here in 1 Timothy, the Apostle Paul gives thanks to Christ Jesus our Lord. He is thankful that there on the Damascus road so many years before Christ had called him to serve as an apostle. He is thankful both for the strength Christ has given him to do the work and for the implied trust in being placed in such a position. This is especially so in light of the fact that he (13) was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man. No doubt Paul could remember how very weak he felt when he was carried into Damascus blind and struck down. God had give him the strength, however, to recover and to be baptised and to begin preaching Christ and to be the energetic apostle to the Gentiles that he became. How greatly honoured he was to have been given such privileges. Any man who is given the strength to preach God's Word and who is entrusted with the gospel is under an obligation to always be thankful for such great privileges. It is surely not going too far to say that every man called to the ministry and exercising it should take time at least once every day to thank God for the task to which he has been called and for the strength to do it.