Title: The Will of God to Block
Contents
11 God our Father and our Lord Jesus make our way straight to you,
12 And the Lord may increase and abound in love for one another and for all people, just as we love you.
13 May your hearts be strengthened and be blameless in holiness before God and our Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.
1. Words that begin
A high-ranking person, who was the president of a university, heard the twinkling noises of a taxi driver swearing at President Roh and conveyed it to President Roh. And then I read an article that said to the angry President Roh, "Didn't you summon me to hear that?"
Even a small child who barely walks is reckless rather than thanking the person who stops him from going over the cliff. Even immature boys and young adults hate, even hate, and even rebel against those who block their way to sin. Adults also hate and stay away from people who stand in the way of life. In this way, people are troubled and upset when their will, plans, or life path are blocked.
However, in life, we need to be able to appreciate the words and actions of the elderly people with rich life experiences who block us. In each field, such as academia or art, business or technology, politics or administration, we must be able to accept the words and actions of advanced people who are blocking us. Even the Apostle Paul, the greatest figure in the history of the Church, used to experience blockages.
2. The will of God to block the way to visit
The apostle Paul prayed, “God our Father and our Lord Jesus make our way straight to you.” It is not the first prayer to open the way to the Thessalonian church. According to 1 Thessalonians 2:17 and below, I even tried to go several times, but each time I got stuck. For the Apostle Paul, it was understandable that Satan would prevent him from coming to visit the young church to take care of him, but it was really difficult to understand that God does not stop Satan from trying to be faithful to God's work. It is understandable that God stops us from taking a dangerous path or doing wrong things, but isn't it really difficult to understand when things are blocked from doing God's work or to glorify God? If something is pleasing to God, shouldn't it be prosperous? However, if you are blocked or broken like a wall, ‘Is God alive? Is God really all-powerful?'
There is a special reason why the Apostle Paul prays for direct access to the Thessalonians, that is, to clear all obstacles and keep them straight toward their goal.
In Acts 17, when Paul and his companions were successfully carrying out their missionary work in Thessalonica, the jealous Jews incited the thugs to make a riot to arrest Paul and his companions. As a result, the church members fled Paul and Silas to Berea at night, and Paul and Silas also preached the gospel in Berea, resulting in many fruits. When the Thessalonian Jews learned of this, they chased after him as far as Berea and moved the crowd into a commotion. At that time, Paul asked the church members who had guided him to tell Timothy and Silas to come quickly.
When Timothy and Silas heard the message, they immediately went to see Paul, who moved to Corinth, and shared the news of the persecution and tribulation that the Thessalonian church was facing. Frustrated by the news that the young church was in trouble, Paul wanted to visit the church himself, but the road was blocked. The Apostle Paul could not understand God's treatment of not opening the way for his visit.
However, it was not long before he realized the wonderful will of God to stop him. Instead of being unable to go, I sent my disciple Timothy to the Thessalonian church, and I heard good news from Timothy, who came to Corinth. Contrary to what the apostle Paul was concerned about, the faith and love of the members were growing well, and they were earnestly thinking of Paul and his companions.
However, there were a lot of concerns. First, even though it was only a few months after the apostle Paul left, the Jews were spreading bad reviews and slander about his mission and personality. Second, the church was under persecution, and even the personalities and property of the members were being threatened. Third, among the members of the church, who were of pagan origin, they were still unable to get rid of their old immoral life. Fourth, after hearing Paul's evangelism, some church members decided that the Lord's second coming was imminent, so they did not work and did nothing. Also, there were members of the church who mourned deeply for the dead before the Lord's Second Coming.
So shouldn't you, as a shepherd, come to comfort, encourage, and care for the sheep? So, I continued to pray for a way to go, and I tried to go. But it gets blocked from time to time.
Here is a wonderful providence of God that is different from human thoughts. I had to go, but the road was blocked, so what would the apostle Paul do? Instead of murmuring and giving up, he wrote, inspired by the Holy Spirit, for them and their problems. That letter is 1 Thessalonians, the Word of God filled with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
If the way to visit was open at that time, and I had visited in person, I would have comforted, encouraged, and helped solve problems. Those precious words would have been limited to those members of the church at that time, and they would have been added, subtracted, distorted, and disappeared over the years. However, the book of 1 Thessalonians, which was written because the road was blocked, is still in our hands even after nearly 2,000 years have passed, and remains a scripture containing the words of salvation, especially eschatological lessons, to people around the world. Is that all? It will bring grace to the generations to come and even to the end of the world when the Lord returns. It will also act as the truth of salvation without being added, subtracted or distorted.
At that time, if the road to the door had been opened according to Paul's prayer, wouldn't it have been a disaster? How fortunate that Paul's attempts to visit were blocked at that time. This is the Lord's will to stop His children. Does our work get stuck? Are you suffocating to the point of being stuffy? Are you blinded by walls on all sides? You have to understand the will of God who blocks you. We must understand the will of the Lord who allows Satan to block it.
An office worker living in Seoul and a student living in Daegu had a romantic relationship. The bachelor met and proposed marriage because he thought that if they didn't meet often because they were too far away, they might break up. But unexpectedly, the nervous lover drinks the juice with a serious expression, and even drinks the juice of the bachelor. Despite the bachelor's work, this time he drank water continuously. Then he said that we should break up because we can't get married now. After that, I got on the highway bus with a heavy heart. I was looking out the window with mixed feelings coming and going, and suddenly I thought, ‘I’m going to urinate and get on’.
It's not that it's not, but after a while, the signal starts coming. The pain of parting wasn't a problem because it was saturated. I gave strength to my whole body, grabbed the chair in front of me, and waited for the rest area while using my energy. The lady couldn't stand it because she couldn't see a rest stop no matter how far she went, so she managed to endure it and went to the driver. “Uncle, how long until the rest stop?” I asked. The driver, who does not know English, said, “Why? Are you hungry? You can go in an hour.”
The young lady who sighed with a squeak came back to her seat, but hearing that sound made her even more deadly. After a while, I went to the driver again. I came back without saying that I needed to pee. When I got to a really extreme situation, I went to the driver again and told him that I was desperate to urinate. Fortunately, the driver parked the car on the shoulder, and the guests were scolding him, so he held a microphone and explained the situation to the young lady standing slumped in front. "Wow!" With the sound of laughter behind me, as I woke up from work on one side, I noticed a block mirror on the bus. No, my god! Customers are looking through the curtains.
The young lady, who couldn't even get on the bus because she was shy, threw away the driver who was holding her and let the bus go. Then he took out his handset, called his lover, and said, “Brother, I was wrong. Forgive me,” he begged. About an hour later, I was able to meet a bachelor, or brother, who had rented a friend's car and drove it by hand, and the couple is living happily ever after.
After that, she says that when she goes a long way, she must do work or take a train before getting on the bus.
3. Conclusion
We must entrust today's blockages and tomorrow's work to God and wait while praying. Also, just as a shepherd loves his members, he should work hard while praying for blessings in spirit, wealth, gifts, and power so that he can love each other and everyone more. If you do that, the day will surely come when you will confess that you were really lucky that you were blocked. At that time, the day will come when I will confess that it was really grace that the Lord prevented me from falling into hell with unjust riches and power if it was opened according to my will. I hope that you will live by fulfilling all the blessings and stand in holiness without blemish with a strong heart when the Lord returns.