2 Thessalonians 2:13-17

¹³ But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. ¹⁴ He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁵ So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter. ¹⁶ May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, ¹⁷ encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word. ^[1]

It is so easy to become discouraged, especially when suffering persecution. The best encouragement Paul has to offer is to remind the Thessalonians of how precious they are to the Lord. They were chosen from before the foundations of the world “to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth;” and one day, he tells them, they are going to share in the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no greater news Paul can give. Such news should elicit shouts of joy because it means that God is not oblivious to their suffering. He has not been caught by surprise, but knew exactly what they would experience. The only logical response, then, to such news is simply to stand firm.

Make no mistake about it, we, like the Thessalonians, are living in turbulent times. The suffering we experience is nothing like that which our sisters and brothers in the first century had to endure but we suffer none-the-less. We need to be reminded of the same information Paul shared with the Thessalonians. God’s love for us is so great that He chose us to be saved, and just as Paul prayed that the Lord Jesus and our heavenly Father would encourage and strengthen them “in every good deed and word,” we need that same word. God is not distant from us or dispassionate about us. He knows our difficulties. He knows our weaknesses. He knows our struggles.

Let me encourage you today using the words of great congregational hymn. “There’s not a friend like the lowly Jesus, no not one, no not one. None else can heal our soul’s diseases, no not one, no not one. Jesus knows all about our struggles. He will guide ‘til the day is done. There’s not a friend like the lowly Jesus, no not one, no not one.” It is this kind of knowledge that enables the believer to stand, because attempting to do it on our own is not possible. But it is not just standing form that the Thessalonians are encouraged to do. The are also encouraged to hold on to the teachings they have received. It sounds like sound advice to me. Let us commit ourselves to doing the same.

Dear Father, thank you for the encouragement you continue to provide. You know full well how easily discouraged we often become.  Keep us from falling into the trap that accompanies discouragement. Help us to overcome the temptation to quit and give in, and enable us to have all and do all we need to stand. Amen.