Confidence In the Lord - December 8

Read 1 Thessalonians 2:1-2

For you yourselves know, brothers, that our coming to you was not in vain. But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict.

Reflect

Would you consider yourself a confident person? Why or why not? Where does the confidence that you have come from?

Have you ever been badly mistreated? After that experience, how anxious were you to put yourself in a similar situation again? I have to confess that I’ve had a few experiences with people that have deeply hurt me and honestly, I never want to go through an experience like that again.

But, I have a job to do. I have a mission to complete and I have been commissioned by God to do it. So, I won’t sit on the sidelines in order to avoid pain. I know the risks but my confidence is not in myself.

In today’s verses, Paul acknowledged the effectiveness of their ministry to the Thessalonians. In verse 8, Paul said the entire region knew of the Thessalonians' faith in God. God was up to something in Thessalonica and it wasn’t a secret.

But Paul was candid about the reality of the situation. Before they went to Thessalonica, they had suffered horribly in Philippi. Acts 16:16-40 tells the story of how Paul and Silas healed a slave girl from demon possession in the name of Jesus Christ. You’d think that would be a cause of celebration. The problem was, her owners had made a lot of money off of her because the evil spirit that had possessed her had been a spirit of divination. They had profited greatly because of her fortune-telling. But once she was set free from the spirit, their source of profit was gone.

Thus, Paul and Silas were dragged into the marketplace, viciously attacked by an angry mob, and beaten with rods. This crowd-sourced flogging was incredibly painful but it was also intended to publicly humiliate them. Then, they were tossed into prison and their feet were locked in the stocks.

Frankly, given all of that, not many people would blame them if they said they were done with missionary work all together. Talk about a thankless job! They had preached the Gospel. They had set a suffering woman free in Jesus’ name! And the people of Philippi beat them and threw them in prison for it.

But even though the Gospel is what had gotten them in trouble in the first place, they kept right at it. Even in prison, they prayed and sang hymns, witnessing to everyone in the prison. And God did something amazing! He sprung them out of jail with an earthquake.

After that debacle in Philippi, they didn’t take a break to get over what they had just experienced and they didn’t pack up and go home. They tried again in Thessalonica! Sadly, a mob formed against them once more and they had to leave the city (Acts 17:5-10).

But, as Paul pointed out in today’s verses, the pain and suffering they faced was not in vain because the Gospel went out, the Gospel was heard, and the Gospel was accepted by many people there. Paul counted that as worth it. How? How could he have found the courage and the strength to go to Thessalonica and preach the same message that had gotten them beaten and thrown into prison in Philippi? Paul told us in verse 2 today—His boldness came from his God. His hope was in Him. He was able to boldly proclaim the Gospel in the midst of such oppression and opposition because his confidence was in the Lord, not himself. Where does your confidence come from?

Respond

Lord, my hope is You and You alone. You are my confidence. I know that in my own strength, I am not bold, brave, and courageous. But You make me brave. In Your strength, I can do what You have called me to do—proclaim the Gospel and declare Your Word. Amen.

Reveal

How can courage in conflict reveal your hope and trust in the Lord? How can that be a witness to the people around you?