WORD: OC's 60-Day New Testament PlanSample

Sometimes You Have To Encourage Yourself In Paul’s first letter to the church in Thessalonica, he seems to be very focused on one centralized theme - encouragement. In the first few chapters of the book, Paul discusses how he, Silas, and Timothy came into contact with the believers there. He talks about how encouraged he was by how the people of Thessalonica accepted the gospel. He mentions how they were able to live together, how they were living with the attitude of Christ, and how it all made him desire to be with them again. All of Paul’s writings, in the earlier parts of this letter, pointed back to encouraging them through his own encouragement. The part that encourages me most is chapter 4:13-18. It reminds me of a song by Donald Lawrence, called “Encourage Yourself”. The song says, “Sometimes you have to encourage yourself. Sometimes you have to speak victory during the test!” Some of the darkest days in my life have come as I mourned the loss of loved ones. I’ve found that in my darkest moments, I need the greatest dosage of encouragement - and I think that’s what Paul provides here. He helps them to see that sometimes encouragement won’t come from people, but rather from the inner peace in knowing Jesus Christ. He reaches deep and tells the believers in Thessalonica that there is hope in those who died in the Lord. He tells them that they shouldn’t live life as those who have no hope – simply because who Jesus was, what He did, and who He is. I love the way he ends chapter 4. He finishes it all up, looks back at them and says, “Encourage one another with these words.” Written By Gary Jones Staff Member, Oklahoma Christian University