SCRIPTURE: 2 Thessalonians 1-2
“Your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.” (2 Thessalonians 1:4)
These young believers had been severely persecuted… yet they remained strong.
They also heard that they had missed the Lord’s return (2 Thessalonians 2:2).
I don’t know much about the end of time, but I am inspired, by these believers.
Persecution and confusing teaching, yet they keep growing in their faith and love.
“Your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing.” (2 Thessalonians 1:3)
This is what I want for me, and this is what I want for our church.
Despite hard circumstances, disappointment, severe challenges, yet growing in faith and love!!!
My experience that is that difficult times has the opposite effect, it makes me believe and love less!
And in the church I find faith is stagnant, and love is lukewarm at best.
For Christianity as I know it, here in the comfortable west, we seem weak in comparison.
It’s scary to say this but maybe we need some discomfort and difficulty to ignite our faith and love.
What do you sense the Lord saying to you?
PRAYER
Lord, life is easy for us western Christians, and the result is a weaker faith and smaller love. Dare I pray this… make our faith grow and our love increase, even if that means making life harder.