I Thessalonians 2:1 “For yourselves, brethren, know our entrance in unto you, that it was not in vain: 2 But even after that we had suffered before, and were shamefully entreated, as ye know, at Philippi, we were bold in our God to speak unto you the gospel of God with much contention.”
Our human nature is to seek an easier path when the way is rough and times are hard. When things get really bad, we will even sometimes assume that the Lord is not in the matter or that He is not with us or not pleased with what we are doing. And, we can even begin to complain that “We be not able to go up against” (Numbers 13:31) the adversaries or moan that we are weary and “we are not able to” (Nehemiah 4:10) to do it anymore. Well, Paul reminds us that when he was at “Philippi” he was “shamefully entreated”. He angered folks there when he cast an evil spirit out of a young woman, so “when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: 24 Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.” (Acts 16:23-24). But, Paul didn’t get discouraged or moan and complain, even in prison he and Silas remained focused on the Lord and their duties. We are told that “at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them” (Acts 16:25). And then after a miraculous release, Paul boldly confronted the magistrates (Acts 16:39). Then, he went to “Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews” (Acts 17:1). You would think that Paul would have sought a more congenial group after being so harshly treated, but no, he declares that “we were bold in our God to speak unto you the gospel of God with much contention”! This is not recorded to heap accolades upon Paul and Silas, but it is for our learning and our encouragement. For, our Lord plainly tells us that “In the world ye shall have tribulation” (John 16:33); that is, it is a certainty that bad things are going to happen to us while we live in this “world”, even while we are striving to live in obedience to our Lord. We are also told that “the devil” is the cause of it (Revelation 2:10). But, that is not all, our Lord has “overcome the world” (John 16:33); that is, our Lord has power over “the devil” and all his vile minions and wicked devices! Our duty is to show our love to our Lord by remaining faithful and committed to Him and His service no matter how hard the way becomes. Much like the disciples in the ship in the midst of a great storm, we just keep right on “toiling in rowing” until our Good Shepherd gets “into the ship” with us; then the stormy winds cease (Mark 6:46-51). He was watching them all along, but at the right time, He came to their aid. The same merciful and gracious and kind Lord is watching over us at this very moment. He knows when our burden is heavy, when we are weary, when we are afraid, when we are discouraged, when we are in pain, etc. In such dreadful times, we have opportunities to show our faithful love to our Lord (John 14:15); that we are lovingly committed to Him no matter how difficult life may become!