Doing Things For God 1 Thessalonians 2:2

1 Thessalonians 2:2 NIV ...but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel...

   When you consider the extreme suffering, persecution, pain, and torment that Paul has faced just before his arrival in Thessalonica one question naturally arises. Why in the world would Paul go to Thessalonica? Why would he go to proclaim the good news and risk more pain, humiliation, or possibly death? Then we naturally think "he must have really loved God to go do this for God." What makes peole like Paul do what they do?  

   The answer is simple, Paul did not do anything for God, instead he did things with God, there is a huge difference between the two.  When I think back on my past and I began to think about all the things I've attempted for God, it is clear that some of them have worked out, but on the other hand many of them have failed miserably as well. When I consider the things I have done with God it is easy to see that not a  single one has ever failed.
    There is a difference between doing things for God and doing things with God. We go out and we think we just need to just go do stuff for God. Wrong. We need to do things with God. Paul says, "With the help of God, we dared to tell you the gospel." Without God's help, these men wouldn't have gone to Thessalonica. If they didn't believe God was in the middle of this mission, and that God wanted them to be in this city, they wouldn't have packed up and headed to the next city. They would have instead gone home, but with the help of God and because God was in it, and because they wanted to participate with God, they went and they dared to tell these people in this new city the gospel.

   May we never go out and try to tell somebody the gospel for God. May we never go out and try to do it because our pastor said we need to or we have to. Instead, we need to go out and do it with God. We know God wants us to do this. We know that Jesus wants all men to be called unto Himself to be saved. That's what's happening here in Thessalonica. The church of Thessalonica, what set them apart was they weren't doing these things for God; they were doing these things with God. May we never forget the difference between the two.