Upper Loft Meditation - 1 Thessalonians 1:3

“We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” - 1 Thessalonians 1:3

In the midst of our struggles, you may hear the exhortation from a friend, “keep on keeping on!” There are many thoughts that may run through your mind.

• My friend does not understand my struggles.
• I don’t have anything more to give. I am done.
• They don’t know how I feel. The pain and disappointment is overwhelming.
• What I am doing will take a miracle.

Paul, in his prayer for the believers at Thessalonica, gives the right perspective for our struggles and for how to encourage those who labor valiantly for the work of the Lord.

Paul prays here and elsewhere that the living hope they have in the Lord Jesus Christ will cause them to renew their strength, to embolden their confidence in what God will do, and to receive the peace that God gives through their hope in Him in the midst of the storm.

Paul’s prayer is not to remove the difficulties but to enable them to stand with God’s staying power through the stress and hardship.

“Endurance” can also be translated “patience.” It is a patience that will wait upon the Lord for His resolution. It is not a call to shut down and wait, but to continue on with great expectation for what the Lord will do.

“I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope.” - Psalm 130:5