Faithful

             But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one. (II Thessalonians 3:3)

          And now, the other side of the coin from yesterday’s post. The point yesterday was not that God doesn’t strengthen us, but that Isaiah 40:31 doesn’t say that the Lord strengthens us. Today’s verse makes it clear that the Lord does strengthen and protect us. If someone wants to ask, “Well, which is it?” it’s both.

          But here’s the thing. If we strengthen ourselves, we can take credit. When God strengthens us, He deserves the credit. And, in keeping with the post of a couple days ago, the strength He provides may not be as showy as Sampson tearing the gates from the city wall and carrying them up a hill (Judges 16.) It might be something very small, like the strength to notice someone needs a door held open. His protection from the evil one may be disinterest in something that could lead to trouble, or misplacing your keys so you leave a couple minutes late.

          The real point of this verse isn’t the strength or protection that God provides, though we may notice those at the time. The real point is that the Lord is faithful. He is faithful to His promises, and to Himself, which means He does not act in a way that is inconsistent with who He is. He is faithful to us, which sometimes means not giving us what we want because it’s not good for us or for someone else.