Love and Perseverance - 2 Thessalonians 3:5

2 Thessalonians 3:5   May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance. (NIV)

            I like today’s chosen verse because it is full of encouragement. All of us want to experience God’s love in our hearts and feel the assurance of His compassion. We all need to know that we are not alone in this world and that God loves each of us fully. This is a wonderful gift of grace and something that we can faithfully rely upon.

            But there’s also a bonus in this verse: Christ adds His perseverance to that beautiful love of God. This means that no matter what we anticipate, experience, or endure, Jesus will be right there with us, every step of the way. In colloquial terms, it could be said that Christ has our back and is constantly watching over us. God’s love make us feel secure and strong; Christ’s perseverance enables us to face our problems, issues, and troubles, in order to resolve and overcome them.

            Perhaps this has been a bad week, or a terrible month, or even a painful year for you. You may currently feel isolated and vulnerable, anxious or depressed. Whatever you are going through, please know this: God loves you and Christ walks beside you. You are not unloved or alone.

Questions for personal reflection

What problems am I facing today? How can God’s love and Christ’s perseverance help me?

Prayer:            Lord Jesus, we know that You are always with us and that God’s love sustains us. Persevere with us in the midst of our troubles and graciously enable us to overcome our problems. In Your Holy Name, we thankfully pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to contact him, please send John an email to Traqair@aol.com.

Today’s image is one of John’s Christ is King Sunday drawings. If you would like to see a larger version, please click this link: King.