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Devotional Reading - December 17, 2025

 


12/17/25

Good morning, Friends, 

1 Thessalonians 3:7-8 -7 So we have been greatly encouraged in the midst of our troubles and suffering, dear brothers and sisters, because you have remained strong in your faith. 8 It gives us new life to know that you are standing firm in the Lord.

Paul is going through a rough season. He’s under pressure, surrounded by trouble, and carrying real pain. Yet instead of being crushed by it, he says he’s encouraged. Why? Because he hears that the believers in Thessalonica are still holding on to Jesus. They didn’t quit when things got hard. They didn’t walk away when it cost them something. They stayed faithful.

When Paul says their faith gives him “new life,” he’s not saying his survival depends on them. He’s saying their faith lifts his spirit in the middle of his struggle. Watching them keep trusting Jesus reminds him that God is still at work, even when circumstances say otherwise. People don’t hold onto faith by accident. God is the One who keeps His people standing. Their perseverance is proof that God hasn’t let them go.

Paul also says they are “standing firm in the Lord.” That means they aren’t standing because they’re tough or fearless. They’re standing because Jesus is holding them up. When life tries to knock them down, God keeps them believing. He doesn’t abandon His people when the pressure pulls up.

Encouragement doesn’t always come as words or comfort, it sometimes comes through a person's "example". Seeing someone stay faithful while everything around them is falling apart speaks louder than any sermon. It reminds us that faith is real, God is faithful, and no trial is stronger than the One who holds us.

Friends, if you’re still standing today, even with shaky arthritic knees, that’s not weakness, that’s grace at work.

You know what time ⏰ it is!!! 

Maranatha (The Lord is coming)  
Soli Deo Gloria (Glory to God Alone)

- Grace & Peace
Pastor Trent

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