love and endurance

May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.

2 Thessalonians 3:5

This short little prayer for the Thessalonian church is a good reminder of what a Christian needs every day. Paul prayed for the hearts of his disciples. And truly all our greatest needs must start by God meeting us at the heart. If Christ has our hearts, He has our lives.

The prayer is for hearts to be directed to two things... the love of God and the steadfastness of Christ. Love is the first and deepest heart need. We often try to fill that need with many insufficient loves... some we search for, some we quickly plug in out of inconvience. But no earthly person, thing, or experience of joy can ultimately satisfy our heart's need for love. Yet God can be found in other loves as He becomes first priority. We see His love as He creates earthly enjoyment and blesses relationships with His grace in Christ.

God also directs our hearts to the persevering endurance of Jesus Christ. Because to know the Father's love, we must in love obey Him, just as the Son loved the Father and obeyed Him, even to death on a cross. That takes steadfastness. I want to be faithful in the Father's love He gives to me. I want to be faithful in my love for the Father. I want to be steadfast in worshiping Him in and through His good gifts, starting with my salvation in Jesus Christ, and extending into every relationship, every action I take, every experience of my life, every joyful thing God gives me to do for His glory.