Happy Friday All!!!
Have a Terrific Weekend and Stay Strong in Faith and Trust and Gratitude! :)
"The Lord is faithful; He will strengthen and guard you from the evil one."
-- 2 Thessalonians 3:3
Paul was able to tell the troubled Thessalonian believers that the Lord would protect them from the evil one.
Like their founding pastor, these men and women had experienced various trials, including being persecuted and martyred for their faith.
In the two verses prior to this kingdom promise, Paul had requested prayer from the Thessalonians for himself and his coworkers.
Paul asked that they pray for God's Word to continue to spread rapidly and be received by others, and that the missionaries would be rescued from evil men.
In our focal verse, Paul turned from consideration of his own needs to those of the Thessalonians.
His assurance that the early Christians would experience strength and protection is based on a fundamental truth:
"The Lord is Faithful."
In other words, God can be trusted even in the face of persecution and difficulty.
His faithfulness ensures that he is at work in the midst of our suffering, that he will ultimately bring judgment on all evil, and that our days are secure in him.
Persecution by faithless persons was a stark reality for members of the early Christian church.
Thus, the declaration of God's faithfulness and the assurance of strength and protection must have greatly encouraged these new believers.
You may have noticed, both in this text and in real life, God's protection does not mean the absence of conflict and suffering.
It does, however, promise Strength and Preservation in the midst of the suffering.
The "evil one" may be a general reference to evil or to Satan himself.
In either case, it is comforting and encouraging to know that we have God's protection ALWAYS regardless of the trials or storms that we will surely encounter in this lifetime. "
Stay Strong!
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