2 Thessalonians 1:2–3: “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other,”

July 5th, 2022 by Pastor Ed in devotional

The Apostle Paul wrote that he was grateful for what he saw God doing in and among the believers in the city of Thessalonica, Greece. To everyone who observed their lives, grace, peace, faith, and love were clearly growing and becoming more obvious in them. Their faith was growing exceedingly, and they needed to remember, as do all of us down to this day, that faith is a gift from God:

For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. (Romans 12:3)

This verse also reminds us of something we learned from the apostles, this gift of faith is something that must continue to grow: “And the apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith'” (Luke 17:5).

The believer’s walk is much like riding a bicycle; we are either moving forward or falling off. Faith is like a muscle that must be exercised or it atrophies and grows weaker. Growth is usually impossible to perceive in the moment; therefore, like physical growth, it takes long periods of time to see spiritual growth. As someone once observed, mushrooms, that only last a few days, can grow up overnight; but oak trees, that last for centuries, do not. Godly servants of the Lord do not grow up quickly. There are no short cuts to spiritual growth.

“LORD, please help us to grow in grace, peace, faith, and love this day as we walk with You.”