2 Thessalonians 3: Faith Belongs to the Faithful

Verse 2: And deliver us from unjust and evil people, for faith is not for everyone.

Verse 3: The Lord will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.

◇ Paul asks the Thessalonians to pray for him and his companions. From the title of the requested prayer, we can guess the situation Paul and his companions were in. It seems that they faced many unfair and unjust situations while preaching the gospel. The residents of the places where Paul preached might have attacked them unfairly for spreading a different faith and way of life. Paul and his companions were sharing the gospel, which gives true life, but they were met with hostility. Paul asks for prayers to be protected from these unjust and evil people, and to be able to firmly keep their faith and fulfill their mission.

Faith is not for everyone, Paul says. He must have wanted to maintain his faith even in the face of injustice and hardship. Even when his body and soul were exhausted and in pain, he would have wanted to keep his faith. However, it was too difficult to maintain faith by his own strength. He needed the Lord's help. It was not easy to keep the faith, even when letting go of oneself daily.

Faith is not for everyone. It belongs to those who maintain their faith in any situation. Just as Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane with sweat like drops of blood, trying to fulfill God's will, faith must be preserved. Faith belongs to those who preserve it in this way.

♧ Lord, we are weak. We are afraid and trembling. We want to avoid and run away. Lord, make us bold! Help us keep our faith and achieve victory! Holy Spirit, lead us to the truth!