To Encourage You

1 Thessalonians 3:9 “For what thanksgiving can we return to God for you, for all the joy that we feel for our sake before our God?”

It is important to remember as we read the Bible that it is not just information for us about what others did, thought, or experienced in life.  Each and every word has a purpose for us.  Of all the things that have ever occurred in this world, that were ever done, or that were ever said, God chose to provide these specific things for us to read because it was these things that we most needed to know.  As we read God’s Word, we should come to it with an attitude that “all Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).  Do you hear that?  All of it, every word, is profitable for us.  It is useful to teach us, reprove us, correct us, and train us in righteousness.  It sets the standard, God’s perfect standard, for how we are to think, what we are to believe, and how we are to live. 

So, as we come to the Word to read it, we should always pray that God would open our eyes to what He has for us, what He wants to teach us, and how He wants to rearrange our thinking so that we can bring Him glory with our lives.  And the Bible does just that.  It is so very critical to living a life that glorifies God, for it is only by God’s Word that we can obey the following command: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2). 

Which brings us back to the verse above, i.e., words Paul wrote to the Thessalonian church, but words that were not just meant for them, but also for each and every one of us who has professed faith in Jesus ever since.  With these words, Paul teaches us some of the ways in which he prayed for the Thessalonian believers.  These believers were part of a model church. Paul was absolutely thrilled with how they were following Christ and growing in their faith.  And he tells them that. He tells them that he prays for them and that when he prays, he constantly thanks God for them. Then he tells them that as he prays, he feels great joy. It’s a joy that can be expressed freely and wonderfully to God, for it’s truly the joy of the Lord Himself that fills his heart as he sees these believers living a life of love toward God as well as towards each other.  

So, what’s that mean for you and me?  For one, it tells us that we, too, should pray for those who are walking close to God.  So often our prayers focus on those who are in some kind of trouble, or those who have strayed from their walk with God – and clearly, we should pray for such people. But are we also praying with thanksgiving and joy for those who are wonderful examples of a Spirit-filled life?  Do we thank God for them?  But more than that, do we ever tell them that?  How would you feel if you had received a letter with such wonderful words from someone like the apostle Paul?  Think about how much it would encourage you. Think of the joy that it would likely bring.  Well, with his example, Paul is teaching us that we can be just such an instrument of encouragement to others.  By speaking a few words, or writing a note or letter telling another believer that we are praying for them and that we are thankful and thrilled with the wonderful example they have been to us, we can bring tremendous encouragement to them. 

So do you think about such things?  Do you ever do them?  God is telling us that we can and should as He gives us the wonderful example of the apostle Paul.  Maybe this is a good time to tell another believer about how much they mean to you and to encourage them in their walk of faith.  As Jesus told us in His Sermon on the Mount, “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 7:12). And who wouldn’t want to receive such encouragement from another brother or sister in Christ?  It is just such things that “the Law and the Prophets,” i.e., the precious Word of God, reminds and teaches us in ways that only God can do.