To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: 2 Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Thessalonians 1:1-2

Paul opened his second letter the way he did many of his writings, blessing the church with a prayer for peace and grace. I don’t think we can get enough of either quite frankly, especially peace.

With all the turmoil and strife we see in the news right now, it’s easy to get uptight and anxious. If you listen to some, the world will end next week! Sure, as each week passes the likelihood of that increase, but you cannot live your life on that basis. Yes, we have to be prepared because His return could be before you finish reading this.

So, we find ourselves in a dilemma. On the one hand, His return is imminent. On the other, we have to continue living our lives.

Like the military wife waiting for her husband to return. She doesn’t know when (but she misses him dearly), but she has to continue working, feeding the kids, and making sure that life goes on as usual despite him being gone. She hopes he’ll return soon and eagerly awaits his arrival but she still lives. Yes, she is anxious but she has peace because he said he’ll return. Who knows, one day her husband might surprise her in front of a crowd of thousands.

That peace.
That expectation.
That surprise.

It’s worth it all.