Word of Encouragement (6/23/2021)

Today, we move on to another prayer of Paul’s in 1 Thess. 3:11-13: “Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you, and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.”

In this prayer, there are two petitions. Today, we will deal with the first, which is “Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you...” (v. 11). Why is he praying this prayer? If he wanted to go see the Thessalonians, all he had to do was simply to make all the necessary arrangements and go, right? Granted that traveling was much more difficult and complicated in the ancient world, if Paul had the will to go, surely, he could have gone. But many of us have experienced how strange life can be. There are times when we cannot do the simplest and easiest things. Think about what we have been experiencing during this pandemic. We could not do so many things that we have taken for granted—such as going out to eat with our families and friends, going to the movies, visiting the sick in the hospital, flying out to see our dying family members, etc. So, James says,

“Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit’—yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that’” (James 4:13-15).

Paul’s prayer was not just a religious formality. He experienced setbacks in his attempts to visit the Thessalonians: “But since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time, in person not in heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face, because we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, again and again—but Satan hindered us” (2:17-18). We don’t know how Satan hindered his attempts to visit the Thessalonians. As an Apostle, he might have had spiritual insight into such things. But he did not give up. He prayed to God and the Lord Jesus Christ to direct (or, make straight) his path to the Thessalonians. There are a few things we can learn from Paul praying about this.

The first is that Paul did not give up but persisted by praying to God. He knew that what he purposed to do—visiting the Thessalonians—was the right and necessary thing to do. The very fact that Satan repeatedly hindered him from going only added to his conviction. Of course, Satan could not have succeeded if God in His providence did not allow him to succeed. From this, we can see that God’s plan for us includes not only what we should do but also when and where and how it should be done. Therefore, we have to wait in humility and patience until all things are perfectly aligned according to God’s plan—“Wait!” doesn’t mean “No!” Consider this: God is using the frustration Paul experienced, which he wrote about in his letter, to remind us of these things, including the existence of Satan and his constant attempt to foil our good works. When there is a setback while we try to do something good for the glory of God (which is in accordance with God’s Word and character), it may be a test to see how strong our conviction is and how committed we are to do it.

Notice also that Paul prayed to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. He knew that the fruition of his good plan did not depend on what Satan would do or not do. Satan cannot do anything apart from God’s permission, which He only grants to bring about greater glory to Himself and greater good for His people. Since it was God, who allowed Satan to block Paul’s plan, it was only right that he should pray to God to grant success to his plan. Let us remember this. You may be facing hardship because of something or someone. You may have to do something about it to resolve the issue. But let us not forget to pray for His guidance and blessing. “Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain” (Ps. 127:1).

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