September 17, 2026 | Be Connected
Guard the Good Deposit
Scripture: 2 Timothy 1:13-14(NIV)
13 What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. 14 Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.
Devotional
At the end of his first letter to him, Paul wrote, “Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care” (1 Timothy 6:20). Here, a few years later, Paul wrote in the opening remarks of his second letter, “Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you” (2 Timothy 1:14). What does he mean by guarding what has been entrusted to him?
Part of the answer is found in the rest of this verse, telling Timothy to “guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.” Part of the answer is just a few verses earlier: “I… am convinced that (Christ) is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day” (v. 12). There is a partnership between God and us. He guards what we entrust to Him, and we guard what He entrusts to us.
Throughout this letter the mentor reminds his mentee that he has everything he needs to do this. Paul told Timothy, “I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also” (2 Timothy 1:5).
Later he encouraged him, “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:14-15).
Timothy had a church and a family who poured the Word of God into him. Now it was his job to guard that good deposit. But don’t think of it as putting it in a vault to make sure nobody can access it. Think of it more like protecting and guiding your children so that they grow into healthy, productive adults. Guarding the deposit of faith and calling God has given us means expecting them to grow with compound interest to be dispersed with generosity to the world.
What are the early deposits into your faith account? How is God calling you to guard what has been entrusted to you?
