NOW WE LIVE!

"For now we live, if you stand fast in the Lord." " (1 Thessalonians 3:7)

THIS IS A MOST THOUGHT-PROVOKING STATEMENT! Other versions read, "for now we really live, if you stand firm in the Lord" (NASB), "For now we really live, since you are standing firm in the Lord" (NIV), "For it is life to us if you keep your faith in the Lord unchanged" (BBE), "It gives us new life, knowing you remain strong in the Lord" (NLT), and "Now we can breathe again, as you are holding firm in the Lord" (NJB).

WE LIVE! There is such a thing as spiritual fatigue. This is not to be confused with the mythical "burn out" that is taunted by the worldly church. Rather, this is an experience in which spiritual (not merely fleshly) resources become depleted. There are some Apostolic expressions that confirm the nature of this experience. " . . . we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life . . . we had the sentence of death in ourselves" (2 Cor 1:8-9). "For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men" (2 Cor 1:9). "We are troubled on every side" (2 Cor 4:8). " . . . our flesh had no rest, but we were troubled on every side; without were fightings, within were fears" (2 Cor 7:5). "In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness" (2 Cor 11:27).

SINCE LEAVING THESSALONICA, Paul had been enduring fierce opposition – so much so that death seemed to be working more in him than life (2 Cor 4:12). Once, when David was being hounded by Saul, he said to Jonathan, "but truly as the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, there is but a step between me and death" (1 Sam 20:3).

BUT NOW THE WHOLE CIRCUMSTANCE OF PAUL HAS CHANGED. Satan had managed to trouble the environment, so that no comfort was being received where Paul was located. Now the Lord, in a Sovereign exercise of His matchless grace, brings a word to Paul from another place. It is the word of the flourishing faith of the Thessalonians. It comes from a young brother whose word can be trusted, and it brings new life to the heart of the opposed Apostle. Not only had he been oppressed, but his great heart yearned to know of the Thessalonians, whether of not they were standing strong in the faith, though vigorously opposed by their enemies. Now his heart is refreshed by hearing they are doing fine, growing in the Lord, and doing so in the vigor of faith.All of this postulates a keen interest in the welfare of the saints. No one can be refreshed and encouraged by the report of someone else's faith unless they have an interest in it. In our text, Paul has more interest in the spiritual welfare of the Thessalonians than in his own life. He had such a zeal for the Lord that he burned within for the advancement of the saints. It should be obvious that such an attitude is exceedingly rare. O, that God would raise up more laborers of this caliber, and purge from His fields those who have no genuine regard for His people! Much of the deficiency that exists in the modern church is directly traceable to a lack of spiritual interest in those who are charged with its care.

IF YOU STAND FAST. Other versions read, "standing firm" (NIV) and "holding firm" (NJB). The idea is that of maintaining an unwavering position, not being "moved away from the hope of the gospel" (Col 1:23). The stance is described in these words in Job, "The righteous also shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall be stronger and stronger" (Job 17:9). David said of this condition, "They go from strength to strength" (Psa 84:7). Solomon said, "But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day" (Prov 4:18). Viewing it from the heavenly perspective, Peter said believers are "kept by the power of God through faith" (1 Pet 1:5). Isaiah said, "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint" (Isa 40:31). What crushes unstable souls only serves to make stable persons more firm in the faith.

ALL OF THESE MARVELOUS EXPRESSIONS, and more, were confirmed by the steadfastness of the Thessalonians in the midst of trouble. Paul had such a heart for God's people that he was revived, coming alive, as it were, by the reports of them holding up under persecution and glorifying God by a strong and vibrant faith in the midst of tribulation.

IN THE LORD. Paul did not come alive merely because the Thessalonians had maintained a shell of religiosity during trouble. They had remained in the Lord, abiding in the Vine (John 15:4), and continuing "in the Son, and in the Father" (1 John 2:24). Their constancy contributed to the faithfulness and effectiveness of Paul's labors! That is a very wonderful picture of the church being "fitly framed together" (Eph 2:21). Wherever genuine faith is found, coupled with an unshakable constancy, grace will be ministered by the report of that condition to those who labor for the Lord. Why not determine to be the cause of renewed life and strength in those who labor for the Lord? It is possible for the report of your faith and constancy to make the difference in others, providing strength that will keep them from despairing, causing them to take hope!

– Given O. Blakely