1 Thessalonians 2:20 – Verse of the Day 1/11/15

Do you have a friend that gives you great joy to when you spend time together? Not everyone is lucky to have a friend or family member like that, but you can probably imagine what it would be like.

In his letters Paul sometimes expressed this kind of joy when he wrote to his fellow believers. In fact the first half of the letter from which this verse is taken talks about how much Paul missed his friends and how he longed to be with them. He also told them how disappointed he was that he was not able to come back to them sooner. He was disappointed because he loved seeing how the Lord was working in their lives and changing them. Paul loved experiencing the joy of Christ working in his own life and the lives of those around him.

Just as Paul rejoiced in the work of God in the lives of the Thessalonians, so we are called to respond to the signs of God’s work in our brothers and sisters in Christ. Spend some time in prayer considering how God is working in the lives of those close to you. Give him praise for that work, and pray for further growth on the basis of God’s faithful promises.