Be Strong Courageous in the Word: A Word We Can Trust

For Your Heart Today

We are living in days when truth can feel slippery.

We are surrounded by information, yet clarity can feel harder to find. Voices grow louder. Opinions harden. And many of us quietly wonder: What can I truly trust?

Nearly two thousand years ago, the apostle Paul wrote to a young pastor named Timothy who was leading in difficult and confusing times. Paul did not deny the challenge of the moment. Instead, he pointed Timothy toward something steady.

“But you must remain faithful to the things you have been taught. You know they are true, for you know you can trust those who taught you.”
— 2 Timothy 3:14 (NLT)

True and trust are deeply connected. Something true is not only correct—it is reliable. Faithful. Worthy of confidence.

Paul reminds Timothy that Scripture is God-breathed. It teaches us what is true. It reveals what is out of alignment. It corrects us and trains us to live rightly. And it equips us for every good work.

In a world still searching for anchors, God invites us to remain rooted in His Word.

Because God’s Word is true.
And it can be trusted.

3 Takeaways

1. God’s Word is God-breathed and trustworthy.
Scripture originates from God and carries His faithful intention across generations.
2. God’s Word forms us over time.
It teaches truth, reveals misalignment, corrects our direction, and trains us to live rightly.
3. God’s Word equips us for courageous living.
Not for argument, but for action. Not for certainty, but for faithfulness in a complicated world.

Breath Prayer
Inhale: God, Your Word is true.
Exhale: I trust You.

Full Manuscript  - Estimated Reading Time: 30–35 minutes

Be Strong and Courageous in the Word
A Word We Can Trust
2 Timothy 3:14–17 (NLT)
By Pastor Tammy Long

A World Searching for Truth

As we prepare our hearts to hear from God this morning, I want to frame the message around these words, which say this:
These words were not written in an email or an article or pulled from today’s headlines. In fact, as current as they sound, they weren’t even written this year or in the last few years.

They were written nearly two thousand years ago by Paul to a young preacher named Timothy, someone trying to lead faithfully in a time that felt confusing, unsettled, and difficult to navigate. These words are from 2

Timothy 3, and Paul names the moment Timothy is living in with striking clarity. It is not hard to see why those words still resonate today.
Timothy’s world feels very much like our own. A world where truth can feel slippery. We are surrounded by information, yet clarity feels harder to come by. We talk openly about fake news, competing narratives, selective facts, and spun stories, and the result is not confidence but confusion.

It has become increasingly difficult to know what is true, and just as difficult to know whom to trust.

And that uncertainty does not stay confined to headlines or public conversations. It seeps into our relationships, our institutions, even our faith. We may find ourselves questioning sources, motives, and intentions, wondering whether truth itself has become something that can be shaped or dismissed depending on who is speaking, blogging, or posting.

But here’s what’s interesting. In moments like these, we don’t stop searching for truth; we’re just not certain where to look.

Voices grow louder, opinions harden, and what can feel lost is a stable place to stand—an anchor of truth.

Well, Paul understands the times and offers a word of encouragement to Timothy and to us in 2 Timothy 3:14-17.

Where Trust in God’s Word Begins

Our theme this year is Be Strong and Courageous, and for the next three weeks we are going to explore what it means to be strong and courageous in the Word of God—which is precisely what Paul is inviting Timothy to do in this passage.

Timothy is a young leader in the first century, pastoring in Ephesus, a complex and influential city, much like the Bay Area. It was shaped by competing beliefs, cultural pressures, and public opinion. Timothy is a sincere and faithful believer, but he is not immune to the times. And the challenges are real. Just a few verses earlier in this letter, Paul speaks of false teachers and the confusion they are causing. Followers of Jesus are being taken advantage of, and truth is being distorted.

Paul writes to Timothy not to minimize the difficulty of these days, but to remind him where courage is formed.

Paul writes, “But you must remain faithful to the things you have been taught. You know they are true, for you know you can trust those who taught you.” (2 Timothy 3:14, NLT)

As I spent time with this verse, I kept being drawn to the words true and trust. They felt connected—and it turns out they are. In fact, historically, true and trust come from the same root word. To say something was true did not originally mean only that it was factually correct. Something true meant that it was reliable, faithful, and worthy of confidence.

And to trust was to place your confidence in something—or someone—that had proven faithful over time.

That interconnection between true and trust helps us hear Paul’s words a little more clearly.

Timothy knew the Scriptures were true because they had been proven trustworthy.

He trusted them because he trusted those who taught him, and what he had learned held up over time.

His confidence in Scripture was not formed all at once, and it was not formed through logic or argument alone. It was shaped through relationship, experience, and repeated exposure to a Word that did not fail him.

Paul then reaches back even further into Timothy’s life. In verse 15, he writes:

“You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus.” (2 Timothy 3:15, NLT)

From Timothy’s earliest years, the Scriptures had been shaping him.

Now, I should note, when Paul speaks of the holy Scriptures here, he is referring to what we would know as the Old Testament—Genesis through Malachi—the Scriptures of Israel that Timothy had learned from childhood. They did not simply inform him; they formed his understanding of God and of the world.

In time, those same Scriptures led Timothy to recognize Jesus as the Christ—the Messiah—and to place his trust in Him.

Timothy trusted Jesus because he had already come to trust the Scriptures telling God’s story as true. He learned them. He lived within them. And when he heard the Good News of Jesus proclaimed, Timothy recognized the fulfillment of the Scriptures he knew so well.

And in that sense, Timothy’s story is not so different from our own.

Many of us have come to trust God’s Word not because every question was answered, but because over time we have discovered that God’s Word has been reliable. It has been faithful. It has proven true.

And for Timothy, in our text this morning, it is from that place of trust—formed over time, tested in life, and proven faithful—that Paul now speaks about the unique nature of God’s Word itself.

Where Scripture Comes From

First, Paul expands on why God’s Word can be trusted.

In 2 Timothy 3:16, he begins by naming Scripture as inspired by God—or literally translated, God-breathed. That phrase alone tells us where Scripture comes from. God is the source. God is the initiator. God is the one who intended what was written to communicate with His human creation.

This does not mean God bypassed human authors. Scripture was written by real people, in real places, shaped by their language, culture, personalities, and historical moments. The Bible was written to particular communities facing particular circumstances. And yet, God’s Word was also written for us. God directed what He wanted communicated in such a way that the truth He intended—His principles—would endure across time.

This idea of God speaking through people was not just Paul’s insight. The apostle Peter affirms the same reality when he wrote that Scripture did not originate from human impulse or personal interpretation. Those who wrote Scripture, Peter says, were carried along by the Holy Spirit. God worked through human authors, not around them.

What was written reflects human context, but it is driven by divine purpose.

Now this naturally raises a real question for many of us. If Scripture is God-breathed and true, why do sincere believers disagree? Why are there denominations, debates, and divisions, all appealing to the same Bible?

The answer is not that God’s Word is unclear, but that human understanding is imperfect, shaped by culture, experience, and limited perspective.

Scripture does not fail because we wrestle with it. God understands our limitations, which is why we need the Holy Spirit and one another to gain understanding—and humility to acknowledge that we may not get everything exactly right.

But, that actually brings us back to trust—trust in God that He will lead us and teach us if we earnestly seek Him for His truth.

We have to hold conviction about what we believe and humility before God’s Word in the same space.

When Paul says Scripture is God-breathed, he is affirming its divine nature.

The authority of Scripture does not rest on our perfect understanding, but on God’s faithful intention. God accomplished what He intended through human writers, and what He revealed remains trustworthy and true for every age, even as we are still learning what it means.

Now, after reminding Timothy where Scripture comes from, Paul then turns to what Scripture does.

What Scripture Does

Paul goes on to say that Scripture is useful; some versions use the word profitable. That means God’s Word is not only true, but beneficial for us to read it, to know it, and to apply it.

First, Paul says that God’s Word teaches us what is true.

Now teaching here is not just about knowledge, memorizing information, or winning arguments.

Scripture teaches us by shaping how we see—who God is, who we are, and what kind of world we are living in. God’s Word renews our minds and gives us a God-centered worldview and perspective. It gives us a trustworthy frame for reality and how to live.

For example, when many people grasp Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 22, where He says that loving God and loving your neighbor is the foundation of everything—the two greatest commandments—that frames what faith is really about. It sets priorities, shapes behaviors, clarifies choices and values, and gives us an anchor of truth that is not subject to the whims and norms of the day.

God’s Word teaches us what is true.

Then Paul says that Scripture makes us realize what is wrong in our lives.

This kind of realization is not harsh or humiliating. It is clarifying. God’s Word has a way of naming what is out of alignment—often more honestly than we can name it ourselves.

For example, we may read a Scripture about loving one another and realize how unloving we can be.

Or reading an Old Testament story about how much the children of Israel grumbled and complained may gently come to mind the next time we are grumbling and complaining about something.
So God’s Word helps us realize what is wrong in our lives.

But God does not leave us there.

Next, Paul says that Scripture corrects us when we are wrong.

Correction here is not about punishment; it is about redirection. As we become aware of what is wrong in our lives, God’s Word does not leave us exposed or stuck to humiliate, embarrass, or degrade us. Scripture helps us recognize when we are on the wrong path or going in the wrong direction so we can be redirected.

Like David facing Nathan when David’s sin was exposed, Scripture helps us recognize the error of our ways and corrects us with God’s grace that gently says, this is not the way you want to go. I have something better.

God’s Word corrects us when we are wrong.

And lastly, Paul says that Scripture teaches us to do what is right.
And here’s the beauty of our God and God’s Word. God is at work within us, forming us over time to become more and more like Jesus.

God’s Word teaching us to do what is right suggests practice, patience, and growth. Over time, Scripture shapes habits, instincts, and character.

Passages like Colossians 3—where we are invited to clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience—don’t just describe virtues; they train us in a way of life, a way of being in the world, through the power of the Spirit at work within us as we become doers of God’s Word.

Notice Paul is not describing four disconnected actions here. He is describing a formation process—Scripture teaching us what is true, helping us realize what is wrong, correcting us when we are wrong, and teaching us how to live rightly. This is how God matures us through His Word.

The Bible does not form us by shaping our opinions, but by grounding us in truth that comes from God Himself.

And because it is God-breathed, it can be trusted to do that work faithfully over time.

As the Holy Spirit speaks to our hearts through God’s Word, all of Scripture has this formative power. An Old Testament story may teach us truth through the lives and choices of others. A psalm may give voice to emotions we didn’t know how to pray. The Gospels shape us as we watch Jesus—the living Word—love, confront, heal, and remain faithful. And the letters of the New Testament guide us as we learn how to live out that faith in real communities and real circumstances.

Different genres, different voices, different moments—but the same God at work.

This is why Scripture is so critical to our daily lives. It can be trusted to inform and form us—not all at once, and not always comfortably, but faithfully over time as we read it, learn it, and apply it.

But wait, there’s more.

Being formed by God’s Word is bigger than our own growth and our own quest for truth.

Paul says God uses Scripture to prepare and equip His people for every good work.

That word equips is important. Scripture does not simply inform us so we can feel knowledgeable; it forms us so we can live faithfully.

To be equipped is to be prepared—not for argument, but for action; not for certainty, but for courage; not to escape from the world in a holy bubble, but to engage the world.

To embody God’s truth as best we know how in a world seeking truth and who can be trusted.

God’s Word equips us to live truthfully in complicated spaces, to love well when it’s difficult, and to remain faithful even when the ground around us feels like sinking sand.

We can remain steady, strong, and courageous in the truth of God because Scripture is God-breathed. God is the source. God is the one shaping, guiding, and forming His people through His Word.
And here’s what I know.

When Scripture is trusted as true, it does not remain abstract—it becomes a force that shapes lives, communities, and history.

An Example from Black History

One of the clearest places we can see what that looks like is in the lived witness and experience of the Black Church.

We know that enslaved people were subjected to the misuse and abuse of Scripture in ways that denied the truth of God’s justice, freedom, and love. What was presented as biblical truth often did not reflect the character of a loving God at all—and Black believers knew it.

As they engaged with God’s Word for themselves, listening for God’s voice through His Spirit, God’s Word not only confirmed and affirmed the truth of who God is, but sustained a faith marked by hope, endurance, perseverance, and trust in a God who hears the cry of the oppressed and seeks to set captives free.

It was that truth that undergirded and propelled the abolitionist movement, the civil rights movement, and the justice movements rooted in Scripture that continue today.

Closing

We live in a world still searching for truth—trying to decide what can be trusted and who can be believed.

Paul’s invitation to Timothy, and to us, is not to step away from God’s Word in the midst of that searching, but to lean more deeply into it.

He is not calling us to master Scripture or to have everything figured out. He is inviting us to remain faithful—to stay with it, to return to it, to let it shape us over time.

Because God’s Word is God-breathed.

It teaches us what is true.
It corrects us when we are wrong.
It trains us to live rightly.
And it equips us for every good work.

In a world desperate for anchors, we do not have to wonder where to stand.

We can be strong and courageous because God’s Word is true and it can be trusted.