Paul said that he had “confidence in the Lord
concerning you.” That is an interesting way to put this. He didn’t say that his
confidence was in the Thessalonican Christians though I’m sure he had some
level of confidence in their desires and abilities. Sadly, no matter how
committed people might be, desires wain. Commitment levels drop off. Abilities
fall short. Any time we place our confidence in human beings, we are going to
be disappointed; but if our confidence is in the Lord, we will never be
disappointed.
I like the way that the NKJV translates this verse.
Paul’s confidence is that the Lord would touch them. I pray every day, it seems,
that God would touch my heart and that He would touch others with healing and
strength. When I pray that prayer, I am asking for God to move in their lives
through the power of the Holy Spirit and His Word to change, strengthen, heal,
guide, etc. I think Paul means the same thing. He is asking God to touch them
and enable them to be obedient to God’s command and to accomplish what He has
called them to do.
As you look back over this letter, you see what Paul
wants them to do: to stand firm in the knowledge that Jesus is coming again; to
fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness; to glorify the name of Jesus
through their good works; to know the truth about the Antichrist; to hold firm
the teachings of Paul; to proclaim those teachings to the lost; and to pray
that the gospel will spread in an unhindered fashion.
That’s a pretty good list, isn’t it? Impossible to
do in our own strength, but not with God touching our hearts.
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