God Will Provide Rest For You

November 8, 2016

God Will Provide Rest For You

We are writing to the church in Thessalonica,

to you who belong to God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Thessalonians 1:1b

2 Thessalonians is one of the shortest of Paul’s letters. But if 2 Thessalonians was all you had, you would have all you need. The theological summary here is more than sufficient to ground an individual and a church in Christian principles for life. Paul’s opening statement (quoted above) reminds me of a line in the prayer of Adoration: “I acknowledge Thee to be by Creator and my God. I render Thee the homage of my being and my life. I am not my own, I am Thine. By creation and redemption I am Thine.” (Emphasis mine.) When a church can grasp at the very core of their being that they belong to God and that their life comes from God, the church can be used in mighty ways by God to redeem the world.

The Thessalonians knew who they were and whose they were; thus Paul was able to affirm their redemptive work for God’s Kingdom. But note the nature of their work that drew Paul’s praise: “. . . your faith is flourishing and your love for one another is growing. We proudly tell God’s other churches about your endurance and faithfulness in all the persecutions and hardships you are suffering” (2 Thessalonians 1:3-4). While there are many Christian churches in Syria, Iraq and Iran who qualify for Paul’s praise today, I don’t think many churches in the west are known for their endurance and faithfulness in their persecutions and hardships. Regrettably, too many make necessary compromises so as to avoid persecutions and hardships.

For the Thessalonians, and for churches today, Paul offers God’s consolation in times of sufferings: “And God will provide rest for you who are being persecuted and also for us when the Lord Jesus appears from heaven” (2 Thessalonians 1:7a). Paul had assured his friends that their faith would be vindicated in God’s justice and that when Christ returns persecution will end. In the meantime, Paul blesses his friends in Thessalonica, and us: “May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace” (2 Thessalonians 2:2).

Paul’s blessing confronts us with a question. In our culture of pain and suffering avoidance at all cost, is Paul’s blessing enough? Am I willing to embrace God’s grace and peace and faithfully endure hardships and persecution?

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.