I trust in the Lord…. You have not given me into the hands of the enemy but have set my feet in a spacious place… I trust in you, Lord; I say, “You are my God.” My times are in your hands …Let your face shine on your servant … How abundant are the good things that you have stored up for those who fear you …
Who said these words? Probably King David and when he was fleeing Saul. Did anyone else say these words? Jesus did. Well he quoted part of the Psalm but everyone heard it knew the whole of the words above and it revealed the confidence that Jesus was placing in His Father whilst on the cross. “Into your hands I commit my spirit; deliver me, Lord, my faithful God.” Psalm 31:8
It is with this in mind that we come to the next couple of verses which shows how Paul’s team placed their confidence in God despite what had been through.
“You know, brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not without results. 2 We had previously suffered and been treated outrageously in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in the face of strong opposition.” (1 Thessalonians 2 v 1-2)
It was not in vain (NASB) and it was not a waste of time (Message). That is how Paul describes their visit to Thessalonica. We then begin to see how they again had opposition, it was strong, but not perhaps like what they experienced in Philippi.
There they were stripped and beaten (Acts 16:22). Paul and Silas were stripped of their clothes and became hugely vulnerable and then they were painfully beaten. But they bounced back with ‘the help of our God’. Those who are stripped and who are beaten know the flow of the anointing of God. Oil from olives and grapes come from being beaten. There’s no other way for it is the way to travel.
They had been thrown into prison (Acts 16:23). How many times Paul and Silas were flogged we do not know, but it was severe. The wounds were severe. But no one was there to bathe, bandage and soothe them. Wounded they were thrown into prison and they were guarded. It wouldn’t be until the jailer was saved would he offer to bathe their wounds. But they bounced back with ‘the help of our God’.
They had been put in an inner cell and their feet fastened in stocks (Acts 16:24). It was a place of total darkness and heat and there was no way they were escaping. But they bounced back with ‘the help of our God’.
Perhaps you simply need to hear these words today, ‘with the help of our God.’ You may feel vulnerable, beaten, trapped, forgotten and in darkness today. But you can bounce back with the help of our God.
And what happened? They went again with the gospel. They ‘dared’ even in the midst of strong opposition. They didn’t flinch when the though may have been will we suffer like we did in Philippi? They delivered the same message.
Whatever that means for you today I know the helper, the Holy Spirit, is here ready and waiting to help you.
Missions Paul 