Word of Encouragement (6/21/2021)

Pastor James
June 21, 2021

I’m glad to be back from my vacation and resume “Today’s Word of Encouragement”. We will continue surveying Paul’s prayers in his letters. Today, we want to consider his prayer in 1 Thess. 3:9-10: “For what thanksgiving can we return to God for you, for all the joy that we feel for your sake before our God, as we pray most earnestly night and day that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith?” There are two prayers here: one is a prayer of thanksgiving and the other is a petition that Paul and his partners might be able to come and see the Thessalonians face to face.

I hope you all had such moments when you were overwhelmed with so much joy that you could not help but burst out in thanksgiving to God. There are occasions and things that bring us so much joy that giving thanks to God is almost instinctive and reflexive. In such moments, even atheists look for people or things other than themselves to give credit for such fortune. But as believers, we give thanks to God. We know Him as the sovereign Lord of all, who rules over all things and does all things according to the counsel of His will, including providing for us what brings joy. Such moments help us see the kind of perspective we should have to view and interpret what goes on in our lives. God should be acknowledged for all of His providential care for us and we should give thanks to Him, not just for special and great things but also for common and small things: “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits...” (Ps. 103:2).

When was the last time you burst out in thankful praise to God, to the point that you wondered how you could possibly thank God for the way God blessed you? And what was it for? Was it for an unexpected, large gift you received? Was it for a successful surgery? Was it for being spared from a deadly accident? Don’t you wonder why Paul was so thankful? It was “for all the joy that we feel for your sake before our God.” What did the Thessalonians do to bring so much joy to Paul?

Paul tells us what it was in the previous passage. It seems like the Thessalonians were suffering through great persecution for the sake of their faith in Jesus Christ: “For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews, who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out, and displease God and oppose all mankind by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved” (2:14-16). Paul became greatly concerned for their physical safety, of course. He knew all too well how difficult and painful such tribulation can be. But Paul was even more concerned that they would succumb to the intense pressure of the persecution and forsake their faith. Even though he wished no one would have to go through persecution for his faith, he knew that it was unavoidable in this fallen world: “For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake...” (Phil. 1:29). Indeed, he knew that God uses such suffering for our good: “this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison...” (2 Cor. 4:17); “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Rom. 8:18). Jesus Himself said, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matt. 10:28). It would be foolish to abandon God’s gift of eternal life for temporary relief from earthly suffering.

Paul was so concerned for the (spiritual) wellbeing of the Thessalonians that he had to send Timothy to establish and exhort them in their faith (1 Thess. 3:2). Timothy returned, bearing the good news that they were standing strong in their faith (3:6)! That’s what caused this outburst of thanksgiving to God. I hope we all understand Paul’s heart. There are many things we wish for our loved ones. We don’t want to see them suffer in any way. We want to see them enjoy health and safety and prosperity. And we get so happy and excited about their achievements and successes. But deep inside we know what is truly important: “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul” (Mark 8:36)? In the end, what matters is our eternal destiny and not our worldly accomplishments and comfort, the approval of God and not the approval of men.

Let us pray that God would establish our faith firmly so that we do not succumb to the pressures of the world, either by persecution or by promises of empty glory. Let us pray that the Lord would order our hearts in such a way that we will treasure what matters eternally over what matters only temporarily so that the joy we give and receive from one another would be the assurance that we are standing firm on our faith in Jesus Christ. For that is Christ’s greatest joy over us!