2
Thess 1:11
So
we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy
of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your
faith prompts you to do.
Let us explore all that Paul is saying here. The first
area that we need to ponder on, is what he meant by a life worthy of God’s
calling, which he elaborates on in verse 12 We pray this so that the name of our Lord
Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our
God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
It means living lives where we are aware of how His
goodness is working in and for us; it means that we acknowledge His work in us
through the choices we make on a daily basis; and through the humbleness it
produces in us – who are we, after all, that He should shower us with His
blessings?
It means that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ is
glorified in us – we walk as His representatives here on earth, taking on His
character more and more, emulating His ways and works ( Unlike simple
copying, emulation implies trying to reach the same high standard as the person
being imitated, out of admiration or respect for them).
It means that we proclaim that He alone is the source of
our glory and exaltation - we deflect all praise and honour we receive from
people back to Him; the only thing that matters to us is who we are in Him and
not who we are in anything else.
The second part of the verse speaks about receiving the
power of God to do the things that our faith prompts us to do. The Prompter is
of course Holy Spirit, and He can only suggest some action to us. It remains up
to us to obey and DO. When we first learn to hear His voice, this can bring
about great turmoil in our hearts – did I hear correctly? Was it really Holy
Spirit speaking to me? What will people think or say? And obedience despite our
fears only sometimes has immediate results – we may never know what effect our
words or actions had on a person! We will have to wait until we are in heaven
to learn what the impact was. But sometimes…. a person is healed right in front
of our eyes. A mother shares that your payment of her groceries just now means
that she is now able to pay a doctor’s bill for her child. Your random offer to
pray for a complete stranger in the mall was the answer to their plea to Abba
that they will start believing again if something like that happened today…..
Pearls to ponder:
Let us become aware of the goodness of God in our lives
by actively searching for and thanking God for it. As you prepare to go to
sleep, praise Him for His love and mercy and grace displayed in your life
today. May we increasingly become aware of His promptings to act in faith, so
that the power of God can work through us!