2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 – May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who Loved us and by His grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.

       There are times in our lives when it seems like no matter how much we do nobody notices. We keep on doing good and trying to help people, but it seems unappreciated and unnoticed. It feels like if we just stopped doing it nobody would care.

       First I want to tell you to never grow weary of doing good. If you are doing good, it is helping someone; and if it makes a difference in one person’s life it is worth it. Your work is not in vain.

       Now here’s the other piece: Who are you trying to please? Are you trying to please God or man? God is the one we want to please! Then why are we looking to man for encouragement!?! Man is not your encourager; God is! Through Christ God already gives us encouragement and hope. He will strengthen you in your weak moments.

Look at this verse, first it tells us that by His grace God already gave us eternal encouragement and good hope. So we already have that. It is the promise of eternal life and our hope for perfection in Christ Jesus. We know that’s coming. Then beyond that this verse goes on to ask that God would encourage your heart and strengthen you in all you do. We have God on our side. He is cheering us on. What more could you ask for?

So again: Never grow tired of doing good and look to God for encouragement when you are feeling low. He will encourage your heart and give you strength to continue on.