so that He may establish your hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints, (3:13).

Suffering. We know it comes to all of us in this life; and we know we should expect it, but somehow it usually seems to catch us off guard, threatening to pull the rug out from under us and knock the breath of faith out of our lungs.

And perhaps, one of the greatest sufferings to endure is when it happens to someone we love, when we so desperately want to fix it, but we can’t; when we are left helpless and seemingly relegated to the part of a hamstrung spectator.

And it is into this emotional fray of distress and apprehension, brought on the church by the afflictions and  persecution that Paul and his fellow workers are undergoing, that Paul speaks.

and we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s fellow worker in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you as to your faith, ³ so that no one would be disturbed by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we have been destined for this, (3:2).

The heart of Paul, so desirous for these new converts to be strengthened, but also so committed to teach them not to be naïve to the reality of suffering in this life, especially for the believer. Actually it has been granted to every believer; it is a given.

 For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, ³⁰ experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me, (Philippians 1:29).

Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, (2 Timothy 3:12).

Paul knew full well the reality of persecution; he had started out as Saul, the great persecutor of the church. Paul fully understood the rage that Truth induces when one is blind.

Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, ² and asked for letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem, (Acts 9:1-2).

The Lord prepared Paul, through His prophet, Ananias, for the suffering that was coming. But I was also struck with the thought that in a very tangible way, Paul’s life before he met Christ had actually primed him for his calling.

But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; ¹⁶ for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake,” (Acts 9:10-15 emphasis added).

Paul was all too aware of the depth of his own sin and he acutely understood the ignorance and hatred that motivated the enemies of the gospel. While Paul knew that God would use his past, he would never rely on his own experiences to equip him to endure the fight that lie ahead. And in overwhelming gratitude, with a sense of amazement that God would ever use him at all, Paul lived in absolute dependence on God’s unfathomable grace with an insatiable desire for Christ, and an unshakeable commitment to preach and encourage others in the faith, no matter the cost.

To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, (Ephesians 3:8).

More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, (Philippians 3:8).

And besides preaching and encouraging, Paul prayed.

Now may our God and Father Himself and Jesus our Lord direct our way to you; ¹² and may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all people, just as we also do for you; ¹³ so that He may establish your hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints, (3:11-13).

If you’ve ever had the privilege of discipling new followers of Christ, you know the joy in watching them flourish in their newfound relationship with their Savior. And you also know the weight of concern which motivates intercession on their behalf, that God would enable them to navigate the mine fields that the enemy relentlessly and mercilessly lays. Paul wrote this letter out of his profound care for these new converts who were facing persecution themselves as well as grappling with the news of their beloved messenger enduring such hostile forces.

And Paul knew what every believer needs when facing the afflictions, trials and temptations of persecution: faith to believe and rely on Him Who Establishes Our Hearts.

Consider Him Who Establishes Our Hearts

Establish:
“4741. στηρίζω stērízō; fut. steríxō, from hístemi (2476), to stand. To set fast, to fix firmly.” Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance
74.19 στηρίζω^a; ἐπιστηρίζω; στερεόω^b: to cause someone to become stronger in the sense of more firm and unchanging in attitude or belief—‘to strengthen, to make more firm.” Louw- Nida Greek English Lexicon of the New Testament

It is only God Who is able to make us stand, set us fast, and fix us firmly in an unchanging attitude and belief. It is only God Who Establishes Our Hearts.

• He Establishes Our Hearts through our faith in our sufferings.
  • for this reason, brethren, in all our distress and affliction we were comforted about you through your faith; (3:7).
    • After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you, (1 Peter 5:10).

• He Establishes Our Hearts through our love for others.
  • and may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all people, just as we also do for you; (3:12).
    • “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven…” (Matthew 5:43-45).

• He Establishes Our Hearts in holiness without blame before God.
  •  so that He may establish your hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father… (3:13).
    • I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, ⁵ that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge, ⁶ even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you, ⁷ so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, ⁸ who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ, (1 Corinthians 1:4-8).

• He Establishes Our Hearts in His guaranteed promises for the future to all His saints.
  • so that He may establish your hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints, (3:13).
    • For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us. ²¹ Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, ²² who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge, (2 Corinthians 1:20-22).

How do we respond to Him Who Establishes Our Hearts?

Suffering, affliction, trials, persecution. We all know that life can pull the rug out from under any one of us at any time. Perhaps we are in the midst of it right now.

Oh, let us pray when the hardships and difficulties come knocking, they won’t knock the breath of faith out of our lungs, but instead, we would be ready.

As I considered Paul’s prayer, I couldn’t help but reflect on what would surely be the ultimate answer to his prayer. As God Establishes Our Hearts, He conforms us to the image of His Son, so that our life, more and more, resembles Jesus. And as He conforms us to the image of His Son, we will be strengthened and ready to stand.

Let us pray that we would be strengthened to trust Him Who Establishes Our Hearts through our faith in our sufferings, that we would endure as Jesus endured.

fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God, (Hebrews 12:2).

Let us pray that we would be strengthened to depend upon Him Who Establishes Our Hearts through our love for others, that we would love as Jesus loved.

Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins, (1 Peter 4:8).

Let us pray that we would be strengthened to obey Him Who Establishes Our Hearts in holiness without blame before God, that we would live holy as Jesus lived.

 but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; ¹⁶ because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy,” (1 Peter 1:15-16).

Let us pray that we would be strengthened to believe Him Who Establishes Our Hearts in His guaranteed promises to all His saints, that we would live in full confidence for His glory as Jesus lived.

“The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; ²³ I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. ²⁴ Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world,” (John 17:22-24).

In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, ¹⁴ who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory, (Ephesians 1:13-14).

Oh, Lord, how we long for You to Establish Our Hearts, that we would be strengthened to bring You glory as we live securely fixed in the eternal security we have in You.

Oh, Lord, we pray You would Establish Our Hearts in You, and strengthen us in Your might, that we would withstand every scheme the enemy throws our way.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil, (Ephesians 6:10-11).

Lord God, we know it is only You Who is able to make us stand, set us fast, and fix us firmly in an unchanging attitude and belief in You. Lord, please be glorified through us as You Establish Our Hearts in You.

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, ²⁵ to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen, (Jude 1:24-25).

Let’s Grow Together!