GREEK
WORD WITH ENGLISH TRANSLITERATION: επιθυμία (epithumia)
PRONUNCIATION:
ep-ee-thoo-ME-ah
STRONG’S
CONCORDANCE #: 1939
MEANING:
desire; lust
BACKGROUND
OF WORD (ETYMOLOGY): literally "to set passion on top
of"; to describe a burning passion
HOW
TRANSLATED IN KJV, NASB AND/OR ESV: concupiscence; lust; desire
#
OF TIMES USED IN THE GREEK NEW TESTAMENT: 39
KEY
VERSE IN THE BIBLE WHERE GREEK WORD USED:
Philippians
1:23 - "But I am hard-pressed from
both directions, having the desire (επιθυmμία) to depart and be with Christ,
for that is very much better.
THOUGHT
FOR THE DAY:
The strength of the pull toward Heaven
is evident in Paul's words in Philippians 1:23, where he writes that he has a
“desire to depart.” The word “desire” is the Greek word epithumia, which is a compound of the words epi and thumos. The
word epi means for or over, and thumos is the Greek word for a strong passion or urge. It usually denotes a swelling
or growing emotion. But when the word thumos
is compounded together with the word epi,
forming the word epithumia, it
depicts a person who is excited about
something. This person is passionate about
this idea; he is consumed with this thought!
Because Paul uses this word, it emphatically lets us know that the prospect of
departing from this world and going to Heaven to be with the Lord was a thrilling and exciting thought to Paul!
When Paul thought of death, he didn't
even think of dying as we think of
it. Instead of thinking of the cessation of life, he looked upon death as
nothing more than a departure that
signaled the beginning of the next part of his journey in eternity. The word
“depart” is the Greek word analusai,
a Greek word which pictures a ship that
is being loosed from its moorings so it can finally be free to sail.
No wonder Paul was excited! When he
thought of death, to him it meant being set free from the human limitations and
physical restrictions that had been imposed on him in this earthly life. The
prospect of being set free was a glorious thought to Paul. Once liberated from
this realm, he knew he would really be able to set sail in the Spirit and soar
to spiritual heights he had never before attained. To Paul, death was not the
end. It was an exciting beginning, the next leg of his journey — a phase of his
walk with God that he was excited and enthusiastic to experience!
But wait — there's more to this word analusai (“to depart”) that is very
important to this text. The word analusai
was also a military word, used when a
decision was made that it was time for an army to break camp, pack up their
tents, pick up their gear, gather up all their other belongings, and move
onward to conquer new territory. This gives us another view of the way Paul
viewed the prospect of death.
As a soldier who had fought many battles
on earth, Paul was ready to break camp and to move upward into new spiritual
territory. He had fought long and hard, and the expectation of moving onward to
heavenly territory was a thought that captured his heart, his mind, and his
imagination. Paul's “desire to depart” and to be with Christ was so strong that
he felt as if he were in a “strait betwixt two.” He was pulled on one side to
depart from this earthly realm and to be with Christ. But he was also pulled
from the other side to abide in the flesh a little longer.
You see, Paul knew that part of his
ministry remained unfinished. If he left at this time, the entirety of his
vision would not be fulfilled. So although he was “pulled” to set sail, to
break camp, and to move onward to be with the Lord, he could not allow himself
to do that yet, because he knew there was still work for him to do for the
Kingdom. That is why he wrote in verse 24, “Nevertheless to abide in the
flesh is more needful for you.”
Although Paul would have loved to enter
the heavenly realm, it wasn't yet time, for he had more to accomplish before he
finished his race. Therefore, he wrote that he had made a decision to continue
a little longer in the flesh. Although it seems Paul actually could have chosen
to let his life slip away, he chose instead to press onward to fulfill his call
and to take others higher with him.
CHALLENGE
FOR THE DAY:
How
does all of this apply to you today? When you are exhausted from the
never-ending problems of life and the thought of dying or going to Heaven
sounds like a welcome relief, stop to ask yourself:
·
Have I done
everything God has asked me to do?
·
Can I say that I
have run my race and finished it all the way to the finish line?
·
Are there others
who are depending on me and who still need me?
If your answers to these questions
reveal that your job is undone and that others are still depending on you, then
it's not time for you to go! One day you can set sail and soar out into
eternity. There is a day coming in your life when you will break camp from this
earthly realm and move onward to heavenly territory. But that day isn't now.
Instead, you need to grab hold of the power of God and run fiercely to finish
the race that is still left undone and that is before you. Don't stop running your race until you know you have done EVERYTHING
Jesus has asked you to do.
So pull yourself together. Muster your
strength. Draw upon the power of the Holy Spirit. Get ready, get set, and start
running your race — and keep running until you can say without any doubt that
you have finished your course! Until you
can say that with confidence, you need to quit thinking about Heaven and start
thinking about how to run your race to the end!
PRAYER
FOR THE DAY:
Lord,
I want to run my race victoriously all the way to the finish line! I don't want
to quit, give up, or die until I can say I've finished everything You have ever
assigned for me to do. Forgive me for allowing thoughts of death to dominate
me. I have too much living left to do to dwell on these kinds of self-defeating
thoughts. Please help me shove aside my exhaustion, grab hold of Your power,
and press forward to do what You have called me to do with my life. I pray this
in Jesus' name! Amen.
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