Faith And Affliction

“And sent Timotheus, our brother, and minister of God, and our fellowlabourer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you, and to comfort you concerning your faith: That no man should be moved by these afflictions: for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto.” (1Th 3:2-3 AV)

Living life by faith is not for the faint of heart.  Living by faith is the only way in which to please God.  We have no other choice.  We have it in our minds that living by faith is living with the blessings of extreme miracles every waking moment.  We read the biographies of great men of God whose lives were filled with one miracle after another.  Or, we read of all that God did through Moses, David, and Paul and we think that was an everyday occurrence.  We do not realize that in between all the miracles, there were regular days.  Days of everyday things of life that sapped strength from the heart and soul of the soldier of Christ.  Living by faith means we are put into situations that require risk.  If there is no risk, it takes no faith.  This risk of persecution is the affliction mentioned above.  Paul sends a preacher to the church at Thessalonica as a means for encouragement.  The sending of Timothy is a reminder that a life of faith means a life of affliction.

Going into surgery is not the most comfortable of all things to do.  I have had to do that a few times.  A couple of colonoscopies, shoulder surgery, and tonsillectomy are all in my medical records.  Going under anesthesia takes a lot of trust.  I still remember the very first time.  My pediatrician recommended my tonsils come out.  I was probably around eight or ten years old.  I remember the hospital.  It was Niagara General.  I remember the OR.  I remember how white it was.  I remember waking up and throwing up into a bedpan.  I remember the torture my bunkmate was to me.  I remember the harassment my siblings gave me for eating baby food out of a jar until my throat healed up.  I remember quite a bit.  But the one thing I remember the most is my resolve not to succumb to the gas pumping into my mouth.  The anesthesiologist told me to take normal breaths and count backward from 100.  I wasn’t going to go under.  No way.  I held my breath and counted backward.  I was going to get all the way to zero and they would have to give up.  No tonsillectomy today!  Didn't quite work out as I planned.  The next surgery was on my shoulder.  A thought occurred to me as they were preparing to wheel me down.  What a way to go.  Completely pain-free and in my sleep.  It took faith to surrender to the gas, but much less than the first time around.  Relinquishing control is a hard thing to do.  This is what faith requires.

Paul, of all saints, knew what it meant to live by faith.  His whole life was defined by that very act.  If you read of his trails of faith in his second letter to the Corinthians, one would understand that affliction and faith go hand in hand.  There is no avoiding it.  How we respond to the trials of life determines whether we are saints of faith or saints of comfort.  If we are willing to grow in faith towards the Creator of all things, then we will be willing to go through some very deep waters.  These waters are overwhelming from time to time.  They exact a cost that at times, seems too steep to pay.  But God is faithful.  He will not allow us to be tempted above that which we can get through with His help, guidance, and strength.  Thessalonica was a great church.  They were birthed and grew to maturity in a very short time.  They were able to mature at the rapid pace in which they did so because they were willing to endure trials of faith.