This is an interesting verse to be right in the midst of a persecution of the church. It was bad enough that it was causing the scattering of the church. It was severe.
And yet in the middle of it we read that the church prospered.
How does prospering happen during this kind of turmoil? They certainly weren’t going to grow or prosper based on what they could see. Let’s see if we can figure out what made them prosper.
They had peace
They were edified
They walked in the fear of the Lord
The walked in the comfort of the Holy Spirit
I preached this passage recently, but I think I messed up a bit. I think I may have been focused on the wrong thing. I missed the whole notion that they were prospering in trouble. Here though they were ruled by the peace of God, the edifying of the brethren, the fear of the Lord, and the comfort of the Holy Spirit. I may have to rewrite and repreach that message.
We may very well be facing hard times again. Our favour with governments is starting to fail. Our morals, which most of the west has enjoyed for years, is now questioned and attacked. It is easy to get down.
But apparently this is our time to shine. Like the Jews who prospered and grew the more they were troubled we too can prosper if we follow the example of this infant church. God’s peace is promised to those who trust Him. We have and need each other to be built up and edified. We need to fear what God thinks about us more than what man thinks about us. And we have the constant comfort of the Holy Spirit.
Lord, help us prosper in the hard times.
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