In our last visit we tracked with Paul the steps he took to overcome his discouragement as described in 1st Thessalonians 2:17-3:13. He first took some positive action steps. Then he affirmed a powerful truth by faith. When the cloud of discouragement persisted he was willing to make some hard decisions.
It seemed up to this point that the focus was on himself and his need. Now he takes a further step that indicated his focus was turning from himself to others. He says in 3:2, “We sent Timothy, who is our brother and God’s fellow worker in spreading the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith,” and in 3:5, “I sent to find out about your faith.” These were the right things to be concerned about – to strengthen and encourage their faith.
This new focus was the beginning of deliverance from discouragement. In the face of his own fear of having failed he took steps to grasp victory. That takes courage, but it opens the door to finding out what God is really doing. Since God doesn’t fail, the future begins to look brighter.
Not surprisingly you find in verse 6 and following that when Timothy returned he “brought good news about your faith and love. He has told us that you always have pleasant memories of us and that you long to see us, just as we also long to see you.”
Notice the importance of relationship in these words. I can testify to the power of similar sentiments in recent letters and emails I received from fellow believers I have not seen in a long time. Good news is a picker-upper that helps deliver us from discouragement.
