Encouragment in Suffering: The Power of Praise
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The Christians in Thessalonica were grateful to God for Paul’s first letter, but it did not immediately solve all their problems.
In fact, the persecution grew worse and some believers thought they were living in the time of the Tribulation.
Then a letter arrived claiming to be from Paul, stating that the Day of the Lord was actually present.
Needless to say, the assembly was confused and frightened by this prospect.
Some of the believers concluded that since the Lord’s coming was so near, they ought to quit their jobs and spend their time waiting for Him.
This meant that the other members were under an extra burden to care for them.
Satan was working overtime; as the lion, he was seeking to devour, and as the serpent, he was seeking to deceive.
It was in response to these needs that Paul wrote his second letter.
He began with their most pressing need, the persecution they were experiencing because of their faith.
In this first chapter, Paul shared three encouragements with his suffering friends.
The Encouragement of Praise.
1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 We are obligated to thank God for you all the time, brothers, as is fitting, because your faith is growing more and more, and your love for one another is increasing.
4 That is why we boast among God’s churches about your perseverance and faith in the face of all the persecution and affliction you are enduring.
After greeting his friends, Paul launched into a statement of praise to God for what He had been accomplishing in their lives.
18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.
You cannot help but notice Paul’s repeated thanksgivings in these two letters.
2 We always give thanks to God for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers;
13 For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of mere men, but as what it really is, the word of God, which also is at work in you who believe.
9 For what thanks can we give to God for you in return for all the joy with which we rejoice because of you before our God,
3 We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters, as is only fitting, because your faith is increasing abundantly, and the love of each and every one of you toward one another grows ever greater.
13 But we should always give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.
Not only does prayer change people and situations, but so does praise.
Satan’s devices to defeat Christians.
One of these devices is suffering, as in the case of Job. If Satan can put us into difficult circumstances, he may be able to weaken our faith.
One of the best weapons for fighting Satan is praise. In spite of his pain, Job was able to say, ‘Blessed be the name of the Lord!’
So, the next time things go wrong and you are tempted to get impatient, turn to God and give thanks.
No doubt the Thessalonican believers did not consider themselves to be very spiritual as they suffered, but Paul detected what God was doing among them.
You and I are the worst ones to evaluate our own lives.
Many times others can see the spiritual improvement when you and I miss it completely.
For what blessings did Paul give thanks and thereby encourage his friends?
Their faith was growing
Their faith was growing
3 We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters, as is only fitting, because your faith is increasing abundantly, and the love of each and every one of you toward one another grows ever greater.
A faith that cannot be tested cannot be trusted.
New believers must expect their faith to be tried, because this is the way God proves whether or not their decision is genuine.
Faith, like a muscle, must be exercised to grow stronger.
Tribulation and persecution are God’s ways to strengthen our faith.
One of my favorite books is Hudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secret, by Dr. and Mrs. Howard Taylor. In it you read how Hudson Taylor’s faith in God grew from that first day he determined to live by faith in God alone. He learned to trust God for his salary, especially when his busy employer forgot to pay him. He learned to trust God for daily needs; and, as his faith was tested, he grew in faith and was able to trust God for His supply for an entire missionary organization. Sometimes it seemed that God had forgotten, but Taylor continued to pray and trust, and God answered.
An easy life can lead to a shallow faith.
The great men and women of faith in Hebrews 11 all suffered in one way or another, or faced tremendous obstacles, so that their faith could grow.
Paul had prayed for the believers in Thessalonica, that their faith might be perfected (1 Thes. 3:10); and now he thanked God for answered prayer.
Their love was abounding.
Their love was abounding.
3 We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters, as is only fitting, because your faith is increasing abundantly, and the love of each and every one of you toward one another grows ever greater.
Again, this was an answer to Paul’s previous prayer (1 Thes. 3:12).
Suffering can make us selfish; but when suffering is mixed with grace and faith, it produces love.
It is “faith which worketh by love” (Gal. 5:6).
When Christians suffer, their faith reaches upward to God, and their love reaches outward to their fellow believers.
Thoreau once described a city as a place where many people are “lonely together.”
Residents of a high-rise apartment can be suffering greatly and the people in the next apartment know nothing about it.
Our modern world can promote spiritual and emotional isolation and insulation, even to the point of our watching others suffer without really caring.
But for the Christian, suffering can help to produce abounding love.
“Behold, how they love one another!” was the confession of the pagan world as it beheld the miracle of Christian fellowship.
The early believers were only obeying the commandment of their Lord, “Love one another.”
Their own suffering did not prevent them from sharing love with others who were suffering.
Their patience was increasing
Their patience was increasing
4 As a result, we ourselves speak proudly of you among the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure.
Perhaps “perseverance” would be the best translation of this Greek word. “Tribulation works out endurance” (Rom. 5:3, literal translation).
You do not become patient and persevering by reading a book (even this one) or listening to a lecture.
You have to suffer.
What were these believers enduring?
Paul used several words to describe their situation: persecutions, which means “attacks from without,” or “trials”; tribulations, which literally means “pressures,” or afflictions that result from the trials; and trouble (2 Thes. 1:7), which means “to be pressed into a narrow place.”
No matter how we look at it, the Thessalonican Christians were not having an easy time.
But God never wastes suffering.
Trials work for us, not against us (2 Cor. 4:15–18; James 1:1–5).
If we trust God and yield to Him, then trials will produce patience and maturity in our lives.
If we rebel and fight our circumstances, then we will remain immature and impatient.
God permits (WILLS) trials that He might build character into our lives.
He can grow a mushroom overnight, but it takes many years—and many storms—to build a mighty oak.
Their testimony was helping others
Their testimony was helping others
4 As a result, we ourselves speak proudly of you among the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure.
“Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith” (2 Thes. 1:4, NIV).
Not only can suffering help us to grow, but we can then help others to grow.
God encourages us that we may encourage others (2 Cor. 1:4–5).
We are not to be cisterns that receive and keep, but channels that receive and share.
Conclusion:
Conclusion:
The word translated “faith” in 2 Thessalonians 1:3–4, can be translated “faithfulness.”
Actually, the two go together; we reveal our faith in God by our faithfulness of life.
The Thessalonicans were faithful to the Lord and to one another, in spite of the troubles they endured.
When a person in difficulty forsakes the Lord and the church, he shows that either he has never been born again, or that his spiritual life is very weak.
A true Christian who is growing will be faithful, come what may.
During World War II, when enemy armies invaded North Africa, the missionaries had to flee; and there was great concern over the churches left behind. But when the war ended and the missionaries returned, they discovered strong, thriving churches. The sufferings of war purified the church and helped strengthen the faith of the true believers. What an encouragement this was to the churches of the free world.