1 Thessalonians 1:2-3, “We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father, your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Is there someone that comes to your mind automatically that you thank God for continually? Someone who has had significant influence in your walk with the Lord because of their strong faith, actively showing love, and unwavering hope in our Lord Jesus Christ? These are essential marks of a mature Christian. I thank God for those who have modeled their steadfast faith, love, and unshakable hope in God’s power, that have had significant influence in helping to further ground me in my Christian faith.
Paul, Timothy, and Silvanus worked as a team. Paul planted the church in Thessalonica on his second missionary journey but had to leave quickly (Acts 17:1-10) because his life was threatened. Paul is now writing a letter to the church he had founded. Paul’s enemies were falsely attacking his character. He assured his readers of his honesty in ministering to them, and was excited to hear of their excellent report from Timothy. Paul expressed his gratitude, answered their questions that had arisen, confronted where needed, demanded a biblical work ethic, and encouraged them to focus on the big picture, the hope of Heaven.
Thessalonica was much like cities in California that are located along our thriving seaports, such as Long Beach. It was a melting pot of various international cultures, and therefore had many pagan religions and cultural influences that these new Christians had their faith challenged by day by day. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
I want my sphere of influence to be said of me, as the Phillips version of 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3 puts it this way, “We are always thankful as we pray for you all, for we never forget that your faith has meant solid achievement, your love has meant hard work, and the hope that you have in our Lord Jesus Christ means sheer dogged endurance in the life that you live before God, the Father of us all.”
- Faith – indicated by solid achievements for the glory of God
- Love – hard work yet performed successfully and recognized
- Hope – in Jesus – sheer dogged endurance before God
When hard struggles and circumstances occur in our lives, it takes work to maintain our faith, love for others because of all God has done for us (for me), and unwavering hope in the assurance that God will provide the solution.
When we went through a past series of extreme and dire problems, a friend of ours asked me, “So, what is it that you are afraid of?” That question was a pivotal point at that particular moment. I then recognized my root problem involved my lack of faith and hope, and the battle was God’s and not mine, and that He would provide what was needed. I did not have a love or concern for the person’s well-being who was guilty of causing our grief. Saying I was dismayed was an understatement. The end finally occurred, and all the things we were afraid would happen didn’t. But I had to live out what I believed in my faith, love, and hope, plead for God’s mercy, and hold fast to the fact that God was Jehovah Jireh, the great provider. It took patience, fortitude, and significant physical stamina. Max Luccato has said, regarding an episode in his life, “The promises of God were a fire extinguisher on his (Satan’s) flame.” Psalm 119:92 was my fire extinguisher and was my testimony when I emerged from that place and time in my life.
What promises of God are your arsenal that addresses your needs? Perhaps you have a specific burden right now? Search out God’s Word for a verse or verses that will comfort and calm your soul, then write them down. Doubt and fear will move towards having composure. God’s promises will address your necessity needed, and you will gain in employing sheer dogged endurance. You will develop having more robust faith, love, and hope in remembering the bigger picture – the hope of Heaven. A better day is coming soon!
Listen to Danny Gokey’s new song, Peace (Official Lyric Video), August 20,2021.