1 Thessalonians 2:13-16

The church in Thessalonica sprang up from the soil of affliction and hardship yet these Believers received the gospel in much affliction with the joy in the Holy Spirit. But as time went on the opposition and suffering they experienced continued long after their initial reception of the gospel. Why? Paul answers that their ongoing suffering makes sense because God’s Word is at work in them resulting in the world at work against them. Paul encourages them that their experience isn’t abnormal, but a normal part of everyday discipleship.