1 Thessalonians 3:2-5 KJV
And sent Timotheus, our brother, and minister of
God, and our fellowlabourer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you, and to
comfort you concerning your faith:
That no man should be moved by these afflictions:
for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto.
For verily, when we were with you, we told you
before that we should suffer tribulation; even as it came to pass, and ye know.
For this cause, when I could no longer forbear,
I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter have tempted you, and
our labour be in vain.
Paul's preaching would
certainly not be popular today as he warned people that they must suffer. But
knowing that it must happen in no way created in Paul apathy towards it. He
sent Timothy to Thessalonica, he said, for three reasons:
- To establish them
- To comfort them and
- To know their faith
Trial is a part of life and
it is most surely a part of faith.
- In some cases trials
cause people to shrink back
- In other cases it causes
them to quit completely, but
- In the best cases
trials bring growth and elevate faith to new levels
The answer to the
challenges of trial is not to protect a person from them, for then we would
never see the fruit of those whose trial brings such amazing growth. The answer
is
- To care for the one in
trial
- To seek to establish
and strengthen them in their trial and then
- To be a comfort for
them as they endure their trial
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