In 1 Thessalonians 2:17-19, the apostle Paul expressed his anguish over not being able to physically be with the church in Thessalonica. Paul wrote, “But since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time, in person not in heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face, because we wanted to come to you — I, Paul, again and again — but Satan hindered us. For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus as his coming? Is it not you? For you are our glory and our joy.”
Paul loved these people. He cared for them and wanted to travel to see them because he heard that they were suffering on account of their faithfulness to Christ. Yet, though Paul wanted to be with them, he was hindered from making the trip. According to verse 18, he was hindered by Satan. The satanic hindrance that we see in this passage was intended to hurt not only Paul but the church in Thessalonica. Satan did not want the church to be encouraged by Paul nor did he want Paul’s concern for the church to be dispelled. Yet, it is important to note that God is also at work, even when Satan tries to hinder God’s church.
As 1 Thessalonians 3:1-5 goes on to show, while Satan’s desire is to hinder us in the trial, God’s plan is to sanctify us, and for the believer, God’s purpose will prevail! As the beginning of verse 3 tells us, God intends for our faith to be refined and remain unshaken in the trial. In the trial, God is proving our faith. He is forging our faith in His unshakable promises. In fact, He was designed the trials for this very purpose.
Look at verses 3-4: “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.” In other words, the afflictions that the church in Thessalonica suffered were afflictions that they were “destined for” as believers in Christ. For those of us who have read other letters by the apostle Paul, this statement should not surprise us.
In 2 Timothy 3:12, Paul writes, “Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffering persecution.” And, of course, those who have read the words of Jesus in the Gospels know that suffering is the road on which the believer is destined by God to walk before entering the reward of heaven. Jesus says, “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few” (Matthew 7:13-14). In Luke 9:23-26, Jesus says, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.”
Suffering is not a circumstance that takes God by surprise. Suffering is part of the plan, for it is in the trial that we learn what James teaches in James 1:2-4. James tells us, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds.” Now, why should we count it joy, James? He tells us in verse 3, “For you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have it full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
Do you see what God intends in our suffering? While Satan intends to hinder us through suffering, God intends to sanctify through suffering. God has designed the trial not to destroy us, but to free us from our lust and longing for the things of this world. That is why Paul is able to say what he says in Romans 8 regarding all things in our lives. In Romans 8:28-29, he writes, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” What is it the purpose, Paul? Verse 29 tells us, “For those who He foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be the firstborn among many brothers.” What are those verses telling us? They are telling us that God’s purpose is to make us more conformed to the image of Jesus. In other words, God intends to make us more like Jesus through our suffering.
Again, the apostle Paul helps us in Philippians 3:8-11 to understand the role that suffering plays in the life of the believer, “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.” Paul is essentially saying, “I will become like Jesus in His death in order to know Him and the power of His resurrection. I will share in Jesus’ suffering, that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.”
Suffering in this world as a believer serves to wean us off of the toxic nourishment that we receive from the “Tempter,” as Paul calls Satan in 1 Thessalonians 3:5. So, while suffering is never pleasant, it is not without purpose. God intends to sanctify us through it. And the blessed promises that we have in the midst of our suffering is that Jesus is with us. He will never leave us nor forsake us. He will finish the work that He began in us. He will bring us through the trial.
CBH
