1 Thessalonians 2:17-20

Paul’s Longing to See Them Again

“But since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time, in person not in heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face, ¹⁸ because we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, again and again—but Satan hindered us. ¹⁹ For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? ²⁰ For you are our glory and joy.”

Things happen that are beyond our control. This causes some people to become frustrated and anxious; they cannot complete what they have planned. Others, on the other hand, seem to have a lackadaisical take on life and it really does not bother them at all; they have no plans, so they must take things as they come, whether good or bad. To them, it really doesn’t matter. These scenarios are two extreme opposites. However, a Christian should behave differently when things catch us by surprise or off guard. In today’s passage, the Apostle Paul will demonstrates to us how we are to approach unavoidable circumstances in life. This is most important when serving God by serving others. This happens when things are beyond our control. In the Bible, this is called the divine providence of God. We will be looking at these reassuring Bible verses momentarily, but for right now, we want to see what the Apostle Paul is saying to the Thessalonian church.

Notice how Paul dramatically emphacised the change in his plans. in verse 17, Paul said, “But since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time, in person not in heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face.” Luke describes Paul’s ministry in Thessalonica in Luke 17:1-9 and Acts 20:1-6. Paul spent the least amount of time in Thessalonica, but, according to commentators, the church there was actually very healthy, as we can s ee from the Apostle’s letters to that church. However, as we saw in our precious discussion of 1 Thessalonians 13-16, the church suffered from persecution just like the church in Judea did. The persecution first came from the jealous Jews, like those in Jerusalem and in Galatia. Then their own countrymen joined in because they did not like the commotion. Paul had to escape and so he went to Berea, which proved to be a very fruitful ministry for him there. By setting the stage, we see in Scripture that Paul understood the workings of God and the underhanded attacks of the evil one. Paul trusted in the divine providence of God. So in all things, whether good or bad, Paul was able to say, “we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). Nevertheless, when writing to the Thessalonian church, he wanted them to know that it was not his intentions to leave and make his stay them seem short. Paul told them, “they were torn away from them.” We must notice that those who are serving the Lord, will be under attack by the evil one. God’s will is for the church to survive and thrive. And even though Satan had other plans, those plans could not thwart God’s sovereign will. The church did survive and it was a very healthy church. Paul commended them for their faith and their works of faith. Paul wanted them to fully understand that his plans to was stay and then to return and make a visit with them. However, Satan hindered them.

We know from the book of Job that even Satan is subjected to the omnipotent authority of God. God comforts us by the Word of God as we come to realize that we too, just like the Apostle Paul, can come to fully trust God in all things. He is able and He is powerful. Since God is good, we now can understand that God can make the bad things turn out for our good. We see this in the story of Joseph in the book of Genesis as well. God was speaking to Joseph through dreams when he was a young lad. But his brothers were jealous and sold him to an Ishmaelite caravan on their way to Egypt. Through all the difficult tragedies in Joseph’s life, and there were many, he fully trusted and relied on his God. God took Joseph out of prison and into the palace. He became the ruler of all of Egypt next to the Pharaoh. When his brothers came to Egypt to buy grain because of the severe famine, Joseph dealt with them and finally revealed himself to his brothers. He told them not to fear, what they meant for evil, God meant for good in order to save lives. Let us all praise God for his sovereign will and his divine providence over all things, because He is in control.