2 Thessalonians 3:3- “The Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil.”
Critics in Thessalonica spread rumours about Paul and his fellow missionaries. In his first letter, Paul corrected this misinformation. He also encouraged the new Thessalonian Christians and gave instruction for spiritual growth. Then, most of the Thessalonians grew and remained faithful to Christ in spite of persecution. But, false teaching about the day of the Lord in the church caused confusion and led some of the Christians to quit their jobs in expectation of the Lord’s imminent return. In 2 Thessalonians, Paul commended the people for their growth and faithfulness, corrected the doctrinal error about the day of the Lord, and warned the idle to get back to work.
Paul encouraged the people because they were faithful and obedient to teaching. Paul wanted to build in them a confidence in God. God is faithful to His people – He keeps His promises and is with them. God strengthens them through adversities and sets them on a firm foundation. He protects and keeps guard over them from evil. This teaching applies to our everyday as well. We are made in God’s image. We are made to labour (‘live off the ground’), not live off others; like some of the Thessalonians did, especially with the excuse of ministry or to wait for the return of our Lord. When we do our part, our promise-keeping God will make us strong to do our work. He will guard us from everything evil because we do His work in obedience. God will reveal His love in and for us. He will show us how patient and strong Christ was, and help us be the same.
People may fail us but God never will. We can depend on God to protect us. He strengthens us to overcome all the attacks of the devil. God promised to keep Satan on a leash and will not allow any temptation to become too great for us. If we trust in the Lord, we can be certain that Satan cannot defeat us because we are safe in the Lord. God establishes and guards us only when we are in His will, obeying His word. God doesn’t make us spiritually mature and stable overnight; it happens when we cooperate with His will. We all need ‘patience’ and ‘love’ to be stable and strong spiritually and this was Paul’s prayer for the church at Thessalonica.
Your word is forever, LORD; it is firmly established in heaven (Psalm 119:89).
