Establish Your Hearts

Therefore when we could bear it no longer, we were willing to be left behind at Athens alone, and we sent Timothy, our brother and God's coworker in the gospel of Christ, to establish and exhort you in your faith, that no one be moved by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are destined for this. For when we were with you, we kept telling you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction, just as it has come to pass, and just as you know. For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about your faith, for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and our labor would be in vain. I Thessalonians 3:1-5

Satan had influenced the Jews and/or pagans to interrupt Paul in his earlier visit with the Thessalonian Church before he could be satisfied with their instructions and their momentum. Paul was a “mother hen” when it came to his new converts, knowing they must be well grounded in Christian doctrine in order to maintain their stability amidst the adversities they were bound to endure. He couldn’t be relaxed about them until he knew they were secure in their faith. So he stayed alone at Athens while Timothy returned to Thessalonica to see to their stability and confidence in the Word.

Apparently Paul was the lightening-rod, and Timothy could operate “under the radar” with the new converts. If Paul couldn’t be there, he trusted Timothy to do the job faithfully, as he’d been taught. Paul had warned the Thessalonian believers to expect “these afflictions,” and now he was being afflicted. He considered it his destiny, and had made that plain to the Churches. Nothing was happening to him that he didn’t expect. He wasn’t sure how they would hold up, however, when the pressure became heavy on them to renounce their faith.

But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us the good news of your faith and love and reported that you always remember us kindly and long to see us, as we long to see you—for this reason, brothers, in all our distress and affliction we have been comforted about you through your faith. For now we live, if you are standing fast in the Lord. For what thanksgiving can we return to God for you, for all the joy that we feel for your sake before our God, as we pray most earnestly night and day that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith? I Thessalonians 3:6-10

What great relief, to know from Timothy that the believers were maintaining the Christian life as Paul had instructed them. What comfort to know they were longing to see him again, just as he wanted to be with them. Such a bond of faith eases the affliction of brethren separated by the world’s adversities. Paul’s very life was fulfilled by knowing they stood fast in the Lord. His thanksgiving for them was beyond expression, and his most fervent prayer was that he could return to them and “fill in the gaps” of their doctrinal training.

Doctrine is built upon doctrine. Salvation is a matter of believing in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. At that point, one is entered into Christ and receives His righteousness and is instantly filled with the Holy Spirit. That, literally, is the believer’s birth. He is toothless, helpless and doesn’t really understand his identity. Then begins the process of learning the basics of the faith, feeding on the milk of the Word as he grows into meatier doctrinal instruction. Growth to maturity is the goal, and Paul took this responsibility toward his congregations very seriously. As we grow up together in the Word, we love and support each other, we witness to unbelievers and we are equipped to share our faith with them. Our faith, thereby, is multiplied. It started as a mustard seed and is growing into a tree that fills the whole world.

Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you, and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints. I Thessalonians 3:11-13

It is God’s Work, and He is in charge. He knew every circumstance of Paul and his fellow ministers, and of the fledgling churches they served. Paul knew that when the time was right, God would see to his return. Meanwhile, they could build upon the basic truths they had already learned from Paul and Timothy, and with the help of the Holy Spirit would remain steadfast until the return of Jesus at the rapture.

Faith is knowing Whose we are, and that our omniscient, omnipotent Father always has our highest and best blessings in store. If life is not going according to our plan right now, we must not panic! There are no accidents in the Christian Way of Life. We may have temporary setbacks and worldly adversities, but God knows where we go from here and has prepared us for whatever comes next.

Depend on it.