He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.
With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith. We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Thessalonians 1:8-12
Scripture Notes
We endure many hardships here on earth. They may differ, but no one goes through this life without suffering. Although we still hold onto the ancient idea that “bad things happen to the wicked and good things happen to the righteous,” we have discovered that it is not so. We can choose to lean into our spiritual and eternal selves or into our body and the temporal.
The punishment that is mentioned is not of a temporal struggle, but of what is eternal. There is no vengeance, only justice. God has not hidden himself so that people can say they don’t know God. He is in the very nature of the earth, and each person is made in His image. He has made himself plain, so no one can say they have no experience with God (Romans 1:18-20). Then who are those who “do not know God”? They are those who willfully disobey, ignore, or go against God and His Word.
The Lord has a history of giving people what they want. When Israel wanted a king, He gave them a king. To Solomon, He gave wisdom; to Hannah, a son; and to Hezekiah, 15 more years of life. God also has a history of letting people turn away from Him and follow their own devices. But He is always trying to encourage us to return. We are being warned that if we turn our back on God, then we are destined for a vile place not because of fire, but because of darkness in a place devoid of God and all that is good.
Then what are we to do? First we pray. We pray for others, and we pray for ourselves. We pray not for an avoidance of judgment but to be worthy of the calling the Lord has for our lives. We pray for endurance (Hebrews 12:1-3), denying ourselves daily (Luke 9:23), and to do good (Galatians 6:9). We must confess to each other to find healing (James 5:16) and pray over all things in the Spirit (Ephesians 6:18). It is not through our power and will that this can be achieved, but by the power of the Almighty.
We follow a loving God, but He is also just. He will pass His judgment over each of us to determine if we were diligent in our purpose to Him. Did we remain humble, or proudly overstep our place? Did we bring glory to Him or to ourselves? Instead of an overconfident, self-seeking posture, we must fix our eyes on what is unseen and know that although we endure hardship, it is only temporary. The future holds a time when being in the presence of the Lord in His glory far outweighs the struggles of this earth (2 Corinthians 4:16-18). It is through Christ that we can desire goodness, for He is good, even in judgment.
MEMORY VERse
Leopold Bode. Trees, 1831–1906. The Cleveland Museum of Art
Related Verses
More verses about a life worthy of bearing fruit:
Prayer Invitation
Application Questions
- Given that God’s justice will bring about separation and darkness forever for those who willfully disobey the Lord, do you feel any urgency to share the Good News with those around you? Do your actions reflect the workings of your faith?
- God has made himself plain to us since the beginning. How does your life reflect a deep, personal, and spiritual relationship with God? Where and how are they not reflected?
- When you experience or witness injustice, what is your response? Do you lean into temporary fixes, become angry or weary, or find comfort in the ultimate justice of the Lord?
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