What do people do when they are beat up, tired and just worn out from life? Some sleep, some read, some turn to alcohol or other crutches. In college I visited a pastor’s daughter one evening and came into the living room where the pastor was on the couch watching TV. I was excited to see him and interested in getting encouraged by him or having a spiritual conversation, but I didn’t get the time of day. He gruffly said hello and turned back to his movie. (I don’t commend his response, but as a pastor now I know personally his emotional fatigue after a long day of interacting with people.)
In 1 Thess 2, Paul writes about how he had previously suffered in Philippi before moving on to Thessalonica (we often skip over Paul’s greetings and travel details, but these sometimes contain very interesting insights). And did he get rest there? No, he encountered “strong opposition,” which apparently had the effect of running him out of town (3:1). Out of the frying pan and into the fire. And there is no indication anywhere in Paul’s letters that he slowed down, in fact in 2 Timothy he speaks of being poured out like a drink offering—spending his life over and over…for what? For the gospel, which is the central theme of 1 Thess 2, repeated over and over, which is the very content of his message (2:2).
God, may the gospel of Christ be both my message and my fuel to press on, even when I feel opposed or worn out. May the gospel of Christ so fill our church that we would actively live out our faith—not less and less, but more and more as we see The Day approaching.
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