2 Thessalonians 1:3-9

Hang in there and don’t give up!!! Let patience do its mighty work in you and let the hand of the Almighty change you through the power of the Holy Spirit into the person you were created to be. Heaven waits for those who persevere to the end in their love and trust in the salvation of Jesus Christ to all who believe.


The faithfulness of the Thessalonian church in persecution gave Paul reason to praise God. Satan persecutes Christians in order to discourage and defeat them. These Christians had experienced persecution but continued to grow in Christ. They were growing beyond all natural expectation. The Thessalonians’ steadfast faith not only strengthened them to withstand difficult circumstances, it also motivated them to express genuine love for others. A Christian’s faith in Christ should always culminate in true love for others. Persecution not only tests faith but reveals it and causes it to grow. Continued faith and endurance through persecutions provide a testimony for Christ. Christians are called to endure suffering in this world, for they will receive a far greater reward in the next. The word destruction does not mean annihilation; it refers to the awful fate of those who reject Jesus, eternal separation from God.

2 Thessalonians 1:3-9

3 We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other, 4 so that we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure, 5 which is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer; 6 since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, 7 and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, 8 in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, 10 when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed.