1 Thessalonians 4 Devotional

Grief That Holds Hope

“For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, we also believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him.”1 Thessalonians 4:14 (BSB)

God's will is that his people be holy, which includes staying away from sexual immorality and not wronging a brother in this matter (4:3-6). God did not call his people to impurity but to holiness, and he gives his Holy Spirit to those he calls (4:7-8). Taught by God to love each other, they are to do so more and more, living quietly and working with their hands (4:9-11).

Then Paul turns to their grief over believers who had died. He does not tell them not to grieve, only not to grieve like people who have no hope (4:13). Since Jesus died and rose again, God will bring those who have died trusting in him along with Jesus (4:14). When the Lord himself comes down from heaven, the dead in Christ will rise first, and the living will be gathered with them to meet him, to be with the Lord forever (4:16-17). Death does not have the final say over God's people. That truth is meant for encouraging one another (4:18).

To think about: Whose loss are you carrying, and how does the promise of being with the Lord forever shape the way you grieve?