2nd. June. 2020. Daily Devotion.

For many of us, the lockdown has been a frustrating and tedious experience, and we may feel that our patience and our faith have in measure been tested and strengthened. Perhaps we might put this into perspective with a reading that was prescribed for today:

God Gives Paul Courage

1-2 My brothers and sisters, you know that our time with you was not spent in vain. We had been badly treated in Philippi, and our suffering might have prevented us from coming to you. But God gave us the courage to forge ahead, and we were able to deliver His message to you, even in the face of all the hostility we encountered. 1 Thessalonians 2:1-2

Just in case someone is hoping to hear a five-dollar word today, the expression “was not spent in vain” is called a “litotes”. Paul expresses a positive thought, “Our trip to you was productive”, by denying a negative outcome. In English this might connote a smaller degree of success. If someone asks us, “Was your sandwich good,” we might say “It wasn’t bad” to indicate, well, it wasn’t great.
But not so in Greek; negating an opposite implies a strong positive. When Paul says, “not in vain,” he means “a success.”
When Paul says he had been badly treated and had suffered in Philippi, he isn’t kidding. They had tried to help a girl of low standing by exorcising a demon from her. As a result, he and Silvanus had been physically dragged before a magistrate, derided for being Jews, stripped, flogged, and jailed. (Acts 16:16-24) A flogging was horrendously painful and potentially crippling; for that matter, we should not lose sight of the psychological impact of being the subject of mob violence.
When we look back at Biblical figures, we should not diminish their stark humanity in a cloud of Biblical romanticism. Paul was just a guy. Imagine enduring a mental and physical ordeal like he did (Timothy and Silvanus, also). It would have been really hard for them to “saddle up” for another round. By understanding the magnitude of their pain, and the inevitable reluctance to repeat such a horrible experience, we are able to grasp the power that the Holy Spirit had within them.
And if we are tempted to see their courage as a personal trait, we must remember that all three of them went to Thessaloniki and began preaching. Truly they had “picked up their crosses” to follow Jesus; in Paul’s case, apparently, literally; we do not know what ultimately became of Timothy and Silvanus.

This is relevant today when we remember that there are many around the world who today are suffering violence, aggression, injustice and fear. And many more are experiencing unexpected and cruel grief in the pandemic. None of us knows what we may be called to face, but this tells us that we too may “grasp the power of the Holy Spirit” within ourselves.

Prayer for Guidance

Lord, teach me to number my days aright, that I may gain wisdom of heart. Help me do today the things that matter, not to waste the time I have.

The moments I have are precious, Lord, see that I count them dear. Teach me to number my days aright. Fill me this day with your kindness, that I may be glad and rejoice all the days of my life. Through Christ I pray, Amen.

Prayer to Endure the World (An honest prayer)

Dear Jesus, look down on me this morning with sympathy, for I feel much afflicted. I have a headache and my back hurts. I did not sleep well, and I did not sleep long enough. I am worried about my health, I am worried about my money, I am worried about my family. My home needs repairs. People do not give me the respect I deserve. Nobody listens to me.

There is a certain person who is driving me crazy! I don’t have as much energy as I used to and I’m not sure I have enough to get everything done today that I want to do, or even, that I need to do.

The crazy and even destructive things people say in the media and the political mess in my locality and my nation make me despair. How can people be so stupid? They just seem to get worse and worse. The country is run by morons; how can people fail to elect people with some minimum of competence and honesty? Even in the churches, people cannot see or understand the most basic things about you, and the hypocrisy of so many Christians makes me half-ashamed to call myself one sometimes.

And then, Lord Christ, I realize. The world is not perfectible. There is only one place free from pain, worry, frustration, and all of the nonsense and damage that the human mind can create, and that is in your bosom. Hold me tight, Lord Jesus; give me the strength to endure the pain, give me the certainty of hope to avoid the anxiety, give me the blessed knowledge of Your coming again that I might not be stressed out about the things of this world; for they shall pass away soon enough.

And in the meantime, let me grow in you, that I might see my own wrongdoing and with the help of your Spirit, simply dissolve it away. It is in this world that Satan can find his prey, the fertile soil for evil. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, great Lord. Help me to prepare myself, I pray, in the name of Your love, Amen.

Closing Prayer

And finally, grant me O Lord, I pray, the lamp of charity which never fails, that it may burn in me and shed its light on those around me, and that by its brightness I may share a vision of that holy City, where dwells the true and never-failing Light, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Courtesy of Daily Prayer Ministries Inc.