ACCORDING TO THEIR DESERTS
Opening Prayer
Gracious Provider, I praise you! You meet my every need—for this day, for tomorrow, for eternity. Show me new ways to express my gratitude.
Read 2 THESSALONIANS 1
1 Paul, Silas[a] and Timothy,
To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
2 Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thanksgiving and Prayer
3 We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters,[b] and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing. 4 Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.
5 All this is evidence that God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. 6 God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you 7 and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. 8 He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might 10 on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.
11 With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith. 12 We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.[c]
Footnotes
- 2 Thessalonians 1:1 Greek Silvanus, a variant of Silas
- 2 Thessalonians 1:3 The Greek word for brothers and sisters (adelphoi) refers here to believers, both men and women, as part of God’s family; also in 2:1, 13, 15; 3:1, 6, 13.
- 2 Thessalonians 1:12 Or God and Lord, Jesus Christ
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Do you keep a prayer journal to keep track of what you pray and the way God answers? If you do, have a look back at some answered prayer. If you don’t, think back and remember.I had a decision to make: should I accept the offer of the perfect and high-paying job? I was desperate for God to say ‘yes,’ but his answer was ‘no,’ that I should stay put. It took two years before I understood and could give thanks (and mean it!).
Paul gave thanks (v. 3) that his prayers had been answered (see 1 Thessalonians 3:12)—all the more amazing because they were suffering (vv. 4, 5). It sounded serious. Paul described what was happening as ‘persecutions,’ ‘trials,’ ‘suffering,’ and ‘trouble.’ It was bad. God’s judgment would surely come to those who had caused trouble for the Thessalonians, as would relief come to those who were being troubled (v. 6, 7). When he would come to be glorified by his people, the Lord Jesus would punish with eternal consequences those who did not know him.
Note the difference between the punishment (v. 9) and Paul’s prayer (v. 12): to be cut off from God is the ultimate consequence of sin; to be with him and in him is the greatest reward.
Apply
How are you struggling or suffering at the moment? Can you pray some of Paul’s prayers (for example, vv. 3, 11, 12)?
Closing prayer
God in heaven, give me eyes of faith that see things as you do. Help me to know your presence in ever-increasing measure.
Book and Author Intros
Extras
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