1 Thessalonians, Day 3
1 Thessalonians, Chapter 3
The other day, I was walking into a building, when I had an encounter with a patch of ice and nearly fell feet over my head like a cartoon character! I was not paying much attention to the conditions of the sidewalk. The week prior, we had had quite a bit of snow and I was prepared for slippery conditions then, but it had been long enough since the snow that I wasn’t even looking for icy spots. Because of that, I was caught off guard and nearly fell. There is a similarity between my situation and our walk with God. Sometimes, we can see afflictions coming, and we are ready and prepared to stand our ground. However, more often than not, we are going about life and are knocked off our balance by something we didn’t see coming. In those times, our ability to withstand the affliction will depend upon what our lives are built upon.
This was Paul’s concern for the church at Thessalonica — they were experiencing some afflictions and Paul, like a concerned parent, was worried that through these afflictions they would be led astray. Paul in his concern for them sends Timothy to “establish and encourage” the church at Thessalonica.
The Bible Knowledge Commentary provides these definitions for the words establish and encourage. Establish: “to make them firm and solid in the faith;” Encourage: “providing what they needed to fight the good fight.”1 David Guzik comments on 1 Thessalonians 3:2 with, “Both are necessary, but establishing comes first. Encouragement can really only come after we are established in the right direction; otherwise, we are only encouraged in the wrong course.”2 Our ability to withstand adversity comes down to the firmness of our foundation. If we are going to endure the afflictions in our lives, our foundation needs to be built upon Christ. All the tools and strategies that we employ to fight the good fight will be useless if our foundation is not built upon Christ.
Paul’s concern for the church at Thessalonica was, “Were they still trusting in God or had they abandoned Him and returned to paganism?” Paul was not concerned that they had lost their salvation; this they could never do (1:4). They could, however, have ceased to walk by faith, not trusting God in all circumstances of life.3 Afflictions can come out of nowhere, and when they come, our balance is tested. When I encountered the patch of ice, I did not fall because I was able to recover my balance quickly. I was lucky, because in the way I was walking I had a sturdy foundation. Had I been running instead of walking, I would not have recovered.
What is the foundation you are building your life upon? If our foundation is not Christ, then when afflictions come and knock us off balance, we face the real danger of falling. I cannot think of a better way to close this devotional than with the lyrics to “On Christ The Solid Rock I Stand.”
“My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness…”
“On Christ the solid rock I stand all other ground is sinking sand”
(Matthew 7:24 – 27).
Let us build our lives on Christ the solid rock!
Adam Deering
- Constable, T. L. (1985). 1 Thessalonians. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 698). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
- https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/guzik_david/StudyGuide2017-1Th/1Th-3.cfm?a=1114003
- Constable, T. L. (1985). 1 Thessalonians. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 698). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.