Knowing God - 2 Thessalonians 1:11

(from Pastor)

For God will make you worthy

of the life to which he called you.

And we pray that God, by his power,

will fulfill all your good intentions

and faithful deeds.

2 Thessalonians 1:11

Most of us love it when we hear PART ONE. It is indeed a blessing to hear something say -- and mean -- "We keep on praying for you."

Most of us would also love to hear a PART THREE answer to our deepest prayers. For example, when we're in a hospital, don't we want to hear, "God by his power WILL ..."? Indeed, in times of trial, most of us would love to have God's power show up!

PART FOUR is another good piece of this verse. The Apostle Paul once said, "I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do" (Rom 7:22). Again, wouldn't you like to have the power of God help you "fulfill all your good intentions"?

PART TWO, however, is the part that we occasionally balk at. Why is Paul "praying for you"? Because he wants you to accept "the life to which he [has] called you." That sounds good! But what if God called you tomorrow to pack up your bags, head to a town that you never wanted to be in, and do something that doesn't sound good to you?

That was Jonah's story. He rejected "the life to which [God] called [him]" -- and he wound up in the belly of a whale as a result.

What's the belly of the whale in your life? Life -- I hope -- is pretty good. But is there a longing, a gnawing, a hunger. Are you close ... but not quite there? Or are you lost and far. And what's this about "God [needing to change me to] make [me] worthy?"

What's keeping me back from wanting ... and discovering ... and living ... and being filled by PART TWO?

In Christ's Love,

a part - three - kind - of - guy

(Lord, show me your power) 

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Life is essentially the belly of the whale I am currently in.  I don't think that I could ever be worthy enough for anyone ... much less God.  But the verse says that God will make us worthy of the life HE has called us.  Not the life WE want - the life HE wants. The hard part is getting ourselves out of the way so God can work.