Deeper Reflection
“THE LORD IS FAITHFUL, WHO WILL STRENGTHEN AND protect you against the evil one” (v.3) is a promise of God. Embedded in this promise is an attribute of God – “the Lord is faithful”, and a promised action of God – “He will strengthen and protect you”. God will “strengthen and protect” us because He is “faithful”.The Thessalonians were enduring persecutions and afflictions with steadfastness and faith (2 Thess 1:4). It was in this context that Paul points them to “the Lord is faithful”. “The Lord is faithful” ought to be our focus and anchor in whatever form of suffering that we are undergoing. Paul and the Thessalonians recognised that “the evil one” was behind their persecutions and afflictions. God has promised us that He will “strengthen and protect you from the evil one”. God will “strengthen” us in our inner being with His power (cf. Eph 3:16) in the midst of our trials, so that we will not fall into unfaithfulness to God. And God will “protect” us – “watch over” us “as shepherds guard their sheep”⁴⁴.The result of this divine strengthening and protection is the evil one “will in no way triumph over”⁴⁵ us. The divine protection hardly means God will keep us from suffering. It is in our suffering, God “will shield” us “from the ultimate shame of succumbing to the wiles of the adversary”⁴⁶. In this divine strengthening and protection, we can be like Job. No matter how great our suffering is, we still hold fast to our integrity with endurance and not charge God with wrong, but worship Him instead (Job 1:21-22; 2:3; Jas 5:11).

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⁴⁴ Gene L. Green, 338 ⁴⁵ Gene L. Green, 338 ⁴⁶ Gene L. Green, 338