2 Thessalonians 3:3

I recently sent out an email to several godly women in my life and requested that they do me a favor.  I wanted to see how God spoke to each of them through scripture.  I wasn't asking IF God spoke to them...instead, I asked, what did He say?  I emphasize this because when you become a Christian you learn that God speaks through His written word.  He also speaks to our hearts in different ways but I would like to focus on His written word.  Why?  Because this is a firm foundation that I can offer to you and it is open to all who seek.  I can't give you my experiences with God but I can give you the word of God.  And I believe that He speaks to all who will listen.
My wish is to show the way He speaks to some of the women who have chosen to share with me and how He speaks to me.
I want to encourage you who might be struggling but also disciple those who might not know how to "hear" from God.
We are not alone in our Christian walk but the enemy sure would like you to think so.

The scripture I chose this week was 2 Thessalonians 3:3
³ But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.

Here are what God is speaking to these women:



Esther M.

This message transcends cultures and times; currently we are bombarded on every side with wars, uprisings, earthquakes, ash clouds, tsunamis, tornadoes, mothers murdering their babies, all manner of perversion, billboards advertising the rapture and our own daily lives are not void of challenges. We also can affirm we are living in difficult times and the evil one is prevailing. (2 Timothy 1-5).

Therefore the temptation for us can be much like the Thessalonians; we too can become discouraged, complacent, and fearful, lose our focus and think “I’m ready! so come Lord Jesus and come quickly” But in this passage we are encouraged to live in the light of Christ return, because He is faithful, He will strengthen and protect us, one of my favorite scriptures is found in Isaiah 41:10 “So do not fear, for I am with you, do not be dismayed for I am your God, I will strengthen you and help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand”

Yes God is “MY GOD”, and as I become more intimately acquainted with MY GOD I realize that I am empowered to live in the light of his return, focused and engaging in His purposes.  I am able to trust in His faithful guidance, care and protection from the evil one.  I am never alone or forsaken; His Holy Spirit, His word and the Body of Christ and many more resources are available to me.

2 Peter 1:3 states, “That His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him”

Today I pray that our primary aspiration will be to know God as “MY GOD”  

Brandice W.

Yesterday, when I first read “But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one” the first thing I thought of was my son who has a rare condition that causes one side of his body to be larger than the other side. My husband and I are constantly praying and believing that God will heal him and cause his body to be made perfect. How encouraging for me to read that my God is faithful! I desire for the Lord to strengthen and protect my sons body from this condition.
Today, I found out an old friend had been lured into a trap: thinking he was meeting someone selling something from an online trading site, he was shot while trying to escape from being thrown into the trunk of their car. (Such unthinkable evil!) His attackers fled and luckily his father saw the commotion from a distance and called 911.  I read the verse again. In the truest sense of being protected from the evil one, this verse means what it says! God was faithful, God strengthened him to fight off his attackers, and protected him from a certain death. Bless God for his protection!
This simple passage needs no theoretical explanation. If the heart of God is not heard and understood here then all hope is lost.

Tina B.

It's funny, two things really popped into my mind.  First, and immediately, was my son.  As a mother, one of my greatest concerns is his safety.  It is something I pray about daily and try to fight my own fears of something happening to him.  I have to often remind myself that God gave him to me and that God will be faithful to protect him. 

The second thought was this....  Yes, God is faithful and He will strengthen and protect.  But  that doesn't mean He doesn't allow difficulties and challenges.  In fact, the difficulties and challenges are often HOW He strengthens us.  A few years ago, I went through a series of very hurtful events.  First, in the church and then at my place of work.  I was angry, crushed, and felt mistrust towards everyone....  in the church and out!!!!  Not a great place to be!  Through it, God did redeem us and the false accusations were exposed.  But the hurt and anger remained for a quite a while.  On the other side of it now, God has grown in us wisdom, inner personal strength, grace, and compassion.....  But these lessons and the growth that we experienced would not have occurred had we not walked through that storm and experienced God's protection, wisdom, and compassion.

Jill M.

This scripture hit me like a ton of bricks when I came across it.  I was already praying for so many needs in the body of Christ and was feeling overwhelmed.  I felt like God was reminding me (just like Paul was telling the Thessalonians) that he is faithful even when wickedness surrounds us...He will protect us.  It is truly the only hope we have in this decaying world.  It is not meant to be our home and we are in a battle (spiritual warfare Ephesians 6:12 ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.)

I believe that God will redeem all of the time and trials that we go through.  We are not promised that life will be easy BUT He does promise that He will be with us.

All we can do is take one step at a time and serve our God who is faithful!!

Thank you so much to my ladies who were able to take the time and share.  And thank you for reading our post.  Please take the time to further study 2 Thessalonians 3 and see what God wants to speak to your heart.