Press play to listen to this content
👉🏼 (Reading: 1 Thessalonians 3:1-8)
📜 ""We sent Timothy, who is our brother and co-worker in God's service in spreading the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith.""
1 Thessalonians 3:2 (NIV)
📋 We all need encouragement for one reason or another. One reason for which we need encouragement is that we all face trials in this evil world. For instance, the Thessalonian believers were going through severe trials, so the Apostle Paul was very concerned about their faith.
Trials can weaken our faith and bring anxiety, fear and discouragement. Often, the devil is behind some of our trials as he aims to discourage us by undercutting our faith in God. This enemy may attack us through persecutions, sickness, loss of loved ones, financial crisis through the loss of a job, marital distress, etc.
Paul didn't want Satan to destroy the faith of the saints in Thessalonica through trials, so he sent Timothy to encourage them in their faith. In today's anchor text, Paul writes: "We sent Timothy, who is our brother and co-worker in God's service in spreading the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith."
Obviously, Timothy did a great work of encouraging the believers and brought back to Paul "good news about (their) faith and love" (v.6). The brethren were strengthened in their faith by the encouragement from Timothy.
We too must learn to encourage one another in times of trouble. Learn to encourage others when they are sick, bereaved, or going through other kinds of adversity.
🔑 Key Lesson: We all need encouragement from one another.
🛐 Meditation and Prayer: Lord, move my heart so that I can encourage others in times of trouble.
📚 Further Reading: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.
◼️ The Bible in One Year: Ezekiel 16-17.