2 Timothy 3:11
“Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me.”
King James Version (KJV)
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Read Full Chapter →Paul recalls the persecutions he suffered in various cities and testifies that the Lord delivered him from them all.
What Does 2 Timothy 3:11 Mean?
Paul continues, recalling specific sufferings endured at Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra, places Timothy would have known well. He names the persecutions he bore, and then sounds the great refrain: out of them all, the Lord delivered him.
The list of hardships is real and specific, but it ends in deliverance. Paul does not pretend the suffering was light, yet he testifies that the Lord rescued him through every trial. This is the testimony of a life that has been carried through fire. For the reader facing affliction, this is solid encouragement. The Lord who delivered Paul is the same Lord today. Deliverance may not always mean escape from suffering, but it means the faithful presence of God carrying His people through, until they can look back and say, out of them all, the Lord delivered me.