While the media around us is full of bad news we all seek to find some good news. Unfortunately for many of us, we have given up on gaining good news from the media. For me, the media has lost its credibility and no matter what news they bring I am skeptical. However, there are acquaintances, friends, and family that I trust and when they bring good news I rejoice. If you have ever waited to hear the finality of a situation that was dear to your heart you can understand the stress of the wait and the jubilation of a good report. This is where we find Paul today in our devotional. He was waiting for Timothy to bring a report from the church of Thessalonica.
In I Thessalonians 3:6 his letter to the Thessalonians was of great joy because Timothy had brought a great report from his visit. Paul had left Thessalonica because it had become dangerous for him. The church was established, but he knew they were suffering persecution and there were many false teachers in the area. His desire to find out if they were still following Christ was overwhelming.
When Timothy returns, he brings the good news that they had remained faithful to Christ. He reported they were a loving church and they had not forgotten Paul, Timothy, and Silas. They longed to see them as much as Paul wanted to see them. This church was showing love to others, reaching out to help each other and win others to Christ. The King James version says they were charitable which translates to love, but the word charity shows what kind of love they had. It was a love that was actively exhibited. To show charity you must do something to benefit someone else. It is not just words.
Paul’s desire was so strong to hear of their faith that this report relieved a great deal of stress. He was comforted by this good news. In verse 8, he strongly states, “For now we live, if you are standing fast in the Lord.” This shows how much Paul was in distress for them.
I Thessalonians 3:6-9 “But now when Timotheus came from you unto us and brought us good tidings of your faith and charity, and that ye have good remembrance of us always, desiring greatly to see us, as we also to see you: Therefore, brethren, we were comforted over you in all our affliction and distress by your faith: For now we live if ye stand fast in the Lord. For what thanks can we render to God again for you, for all the joy wherewith we joy for your sakes before our God;”
Now it is time to rejoice. God has been so good that Paul cannot think of a proper thanksgiving to offer God. His joy was consuming him. After thanking God, he prays night and day for their continued growth. He wants them to increase in the attributes that they are exhibiting for God. With this increase he expects them to love each other as he loves them.
I Thessalonians 3:9-13 “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? 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.”
What about you? Are you praying and seeking God’s face for those who may be struggling in their faith? Is there someone with whom you don’t see often that you are concerned for their spiritual well-being? We have lived and ministered in 6 different churches, and I often wonder how some of the ones we won to the Lord, or saw come to the Lord, are doing in their faith. Hearing of their failure to persevere for the Lord is heartbreaking. Yet, when I hear of those who are staying true to Him and growing I can’t help but rejoice. Because we worked with teens and children in most churches I have tried to keep up with them on social media. I know what Paul is saying and feeling when I find out good news about those who are now adults serving God. It is one of those hallelujah moments! I thank God for those people and continue praying for others I have lost touch with. I look forward to the day we will be together in Heaven where I can see for those who have loved the Lord with their whole heart.
