Graphics by Martha G. Brady
As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good.
Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace
at all times in every way.
The Lord be with you all.II Thessalonians 3:13, 16 ESV
For this blessing today, I added a section from the earlier verse to give some context about God’s peace, where this promise is coming from and who it is given to. Paul spent quite a bit of time earlier in the chapter, talking to people who were being idle and why it was important for everyone in the community to be working and not be idle. Each person needed to be earning their own way.
He says, “Don’t grow weary in doing good.” to those who are working hard and see others being idle, maybe even spending time in gossip or other idle pursuits in the church community. It would be easy to lose heart if you are working hard and others around you are gossiping or wasting time (or seem to be), while you are struggling. Paul has set the standard that this is totally NOT to be tolerated in the community. But there are times when we are feeling weary.
If you are ministering in mercy to a loved one as a caregiver or ministering in your community in mercy, or caring for your young family, or going through a painful chapter in life, you get weary. Whatever your work looks like now, God’s Word to you is to not to grow tired of doing good. He sees it. He knows about it. He is offering His peace to you during what may be a naturally unpeaceful time.
If you trust God and live in His peace during this time, what will happen?
This blessing promises that He will give you His peace at all times in every way. That is quite a promise! Accepting His peace at this time in your life may mean that you are willing to accept that He has the outcome of an uncertain time in His hands. Are you willing to trust that He can care for you, no matter what the outcome of your uncertain time? Even if it doesn’t come out the way you want?
When we look at people like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the Old Testament, it is stunning to realize the faith they had in Almighty God. They were unwilling to bow the knee to the idol of King Nebuchadnezzar. When everyone was commanded to do it, they continued standing. Why? Because there was only One God and they knew this king wasn’t God. They knew their God could deliver them. But if (He did) not, they were still not going to serve these heathen gods and go down in flames. If you don’t know the story, go to Daniel 3 and read what happened. It is a great true story!
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
Daniel 3:16-18 ESV
At the heart of peace is trust. Do we believe God can care for us as well as our good parents did?
When you look at little children who are carefree and don’t seem to have a care in the world, what do you think helps them feel that way? One thing is that they know their parents are taking care of their needs. They don’t even think about bills or the fact that there are such things. They just know there is a house for them to live in and food on the table. They know they have clothes to wear and a bed to sleep in. As they get older, they may find out that it takes money to pay for all those things and jobs for their parents to have to earn that money. But as children, they don’t think about that.
This is the kind of trust we need to have in our heavenly Father. He promises to provide all our needs: housing, food, clothing…to name a few. He also promises to keep us safe. Can we trust Him to care for us until it is time for us to go to heaven? Then we will have the kind of peace this short blessing is talking about.
We will be able to rest in God’s will for our lives knowing He wants the very best for us.
ChangePoint:
- What are some of the things that tend to threaten your peace? Jot them down. Do they fall into categories? What are the categories?
- Are any of them under your control? Are they under God’s control? Can you pray about them?
- Can you resolve any of them by entrusting them to God’s care? How difficult is it for you on a 1-5 level? Do you consider yourself to be controlling?
- Have you ever thought of yourself as someone who could trust God even in the “But if not…” times? Ask God to help you learn to trust Him in the ways you have realized you need help today.
