2 Thessalonians 3:3 (NKJV)
But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one.
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Bible Commentary
2 Thessalonians 3:3 is a popular Bible verse from the New Testament that gives us confidence about the Lord’s protection and faithfulness.
The word “faithful” here means: trustworthy, sure and true. Other meanings are: make friend, convince and persuade.
If we think of the Lord like a friend, it is easier to believe in His faithfulness. If we need further proof, all we need to do is look at the cross and take a moment to remember what He went through for us. It is a constant and powerful reminder of His great love for you and for me.
Once we believe in the Lord’s faithfulness, we can go on to receive the gifts in 2 Thessalonians 3:3,
But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one.
“Establish” in the Greek means: to set fast, to turn resolutely in a certain direction, strengthen.
The world is such a big place that it is easy to get lost, to find ourselves in a place we didn’t want to be. We can flounder around for a long time before we even realize we’re on a path headed nowhere.
That’s why the word “establish” is so important here. The Lord promises to turn us resolutely in a certain direction, to set us fast and strengthen us. These words are very reassuring to someone who has been anxious and unsure about where they are and what they’re doing.
We Can Enjoy Our Work
This doesn’t necessarily mean He will place us in our dream job or make us #1 at what we do. What it does mean is that we will be established and strengthened in Him wherever we are, or wherever He leads us, which removes the anxiety from our work and our workplace.
Wouldn’t that in itself make it more enjoyable to be where you are, even now? To have His peace and strength with you all the time? Anxiety and insecurity is replaced with His peace and rest, and remains with us even in the hustle and bustle of activity.
This promise alone makes a huge difference in our work, in our relationships and in the attitude of our hearts.
To be set fast is to be grounded, like a flower planted in the soil. When the Lord establishes us in Him, or plants us, we’re not going to be easily moved. “Established” is defined like this in Webster’s: to order, ordain permanently; to cause to be accepted.
This promise just keeps getting better! Wouldn’t we all like to be accepted, for our work to be accepted? No one wants to be rejected. Interestingly, when we accept Christ, He accepts us. He is faithful to establish us and cause us to be accepted by others.
Unlocking the Truth – His Hand is Upon Us
Let’s look at the second promise in 2 Thessalonians 3:3,
But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one.
If you look up “guard” in the Greek, you’ll see: isolation; to watch; to preserve, obey, avoid.
As we recently discussed, there are many ways the Lord protects us from evil. The meaning isolation hits home in recent months. Many of us have experienced isolation from others due to the pandemic of 2020.
Maybe you can personally relate to one of these meanings. When we see the Lord’s hand in protecting us, it strengthens our faith in Him. Maybe He didn’t protect us in the way we would have chosen, but He has protected us. We can be very thankful for that.
We might not know specifically what the Lord has kept us from, but we can look at all the calamities in the world and know His hand is upon us.
What a great God we serve. Join me in lifting a voice of praise and thanksgiving up to Him today. Study the Bible verse of 2 Thessalonians 3:3 and be confident in the Lord’s faithfulness.
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