So when we could stand it no longer, we thought it best to be left by ourselves in Athens. 2 We sent Timothy, who is our brother and co-worker in God’s service in spreading the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith, 3 so that no one would be unsettled by these trials. For you know quite well that we are destined for them. 4 In fact, when we were with you, we kept telling you that we would be persecuted. And it turned out that way, as you well know.5 For this reason, when I could stand it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith. I was afraid that in some way the tempterhad tempted you and that our labors might have been in vain.REFLECTIONSWritten by Stephen SheadI found the details here confusing – why was Paul in Athens, and why did he decide to stay there? So I followed a footnote in my Bible to Acts 17, where we find out more. After Paul and Silas brought the gospel to Thessalonica and people were converted, there was such violent opposition that they had to escape to Athens.But even though it was too dangerous for them to return yet, their number 1 priority wasn’t their own safety. It was knowing whether the violence and hatred had shaken the faith of the baby believers back in Thessalonica. So they sent Timothy back to find out (v2 – we’ll read more about that tomorrow).Again, the main topic here is the persecution Christians will face. Two things struck me from the passage.On the one hand, Paul was afraid for them, because he knew that Satan “the tempter” loves to use persecution and opposition to tempt us (v5). His goal isn’t to tempt us to eat the “forbidden fruit” of some particular sin. His end game is to use the fear and threats to tempt us to chuck in our faith in Jesus completely.But at the same time, Paul knew that all our trials and persecutions are completely in God’s hand. He says in verse 3 that “we are destined for them.” Paul warned them that they would suffer (v4) – not just because “haters gonna hate”, but because as he says in Philippians 1:29, “it has been granted to (us) on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him.”As I thought about how this applies to us, I realized that it depends what we tend to focus on. Some of you (like me) need to be more alert and aware of the real danger of Satan’s subtle schemes to draw us away from Jesus. Jesus himself told his disciples to stay alert and pray (Luke 21:36). Are we really?But if you are terrified of Satan’s power, then remember the other side: We don’t need to be anxious, because our Father has all these things, including our spiritual safety, in his strong and faithful hands. “The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).ABOUT THE AUTHORStephen is still muddling away learning to trust God during COVID.