Active Word with Pastor Bob Coy. May 16 Guarded by God But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one. 2 Thessalonians 3:3 (NKJV) Paul was a man who made his fair share of enemies. By obeying God, he inevitably upset many, and we see this throughout the course of his ministry life. On his first missionary journey alone, he was confronted by a sorcerer named Elymas on Cyprus (Acts 13:8), he was banished from Antioch by the Jewish leaders there (Acts 13:50), he was conspired against in Iconium (Acts 14:5), and he was physically assaulted in Lystra (Acts 14:19). It would be a sign of things to come, as a steady stream of opponents and adversaries arrayed themselves against the apostle over the coming years. We might well wonder, How was he able to endure all this? Let’s be honest, not many of us would continue in ministry after going through what Paul did. Yet he kept going. He journeyed farther, preached more, and made a multitude of enemies in the process. In Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, we gain insight into what inspired him to persevere. After acknowledging the reality of those who opposed him and his faith in Jesus, he writes, “But the Lord is faithful, who will establish and guard you from the evil one.” It didn’t matter how many or how powerful Paul’s enemies were. All that mattered to him was that there was a “But the Lord” which stood between him and them. He knew that as long as he was being obedient to the call God had given him, God would be there to guard and protect him from every enemy the evil one would send his way. Remember that, because when we obey God, it will inevitably upset those around us. And when it does, we need to be grounded in the secure assurance that there’s a “But the Lord” standing between our enemies and us, and that He will be faithful to guard and protect us. Think About It… What does this passage reveal to me about God? What does this passage reveal to me about myself? Based on this, what changes do I need to make? What is my prayer for today?
Posted on: Sun, 16 Jun 2013 11:58:33 +0000