The Lord Be With You

Alba 4-21-2024

THE LORD BE WITH YOU

II Thessalonians 3:16-18

Richard Wurmbrand, of Voice of the Martyrs, told the story of a church leader he met while imprisoned in Romania. He was sentenced to 22 years for being a good man, a Christian.

The man, his wife, and six small children were eating breakfast when the police burst into his home. They had just read Psalm 23. When the police arrested him, the minister said, “You are the fulfillment of what we have prayed today. We just read…that God prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies. We had a table but we had no enemies. Now you have come. If you would like anything that is on the table, I would like to share it with you. You are sent by God.”

The captain screamed. “How could you speak such stupid things? We will take you to prison where you will never come out. You will die there. You will never see your children again.”

“We have also read about this today, that I pass through the valley of the shadow of death and will not fear it.” “How in the world should you not fear this?” shouted the officer. “Everyone fears death!” “…The shadow is not something to fear,” the minister said calmly. “A shadow of a dog can’t bite you, and a shadow of death can’t kill you. All these things are shadows. We will have another life, not only one of this world. We can be killed. We can be put in prison. Nothing bad can happen to us. We’re in Christ, and He takes us to another world.” The church leader was taken to prison and his wife and six children were deported, but he knew that he had a God who would take care of them.

How could he be so calm when faced with such trouble? It was because he knew that no matter what happened, the Lord was with him and would be with his family.

The apostle Paul wanted that to be the experience of the people in the church in Thessalonica. So as he brings his second letter to them to a close, he prays that the Lord be with them. Here is what he writes in II Thessalonians 3:16-18.

"16 Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always in every way. The Lord be with you all. 17 The salutation of Paul with my own hand, which is a sign in every epistle; so I write. 18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen."

The phrase that stands out to me in these verses is “The Lord Be With You” in verse 16. It is a way of expressing a blessing on those people as he says goodbye.

According to a website called “symbolgenie.com” the word “goodbye” mirrors what Paul wrote as he ends his letter. The website says, “The word 'goodbye' is derived from the phrase 'God be with you,' which was commonly used in parting during the 16th century. Over time, this phrase was shortened to 'God be wy ye and eventually evolved into the word we use today.”

But now, the website says that, “In more casual or informal settings, farewell phrases have become more relaxed and personalized. People often say phrases like 'Take care' or 'See you later' as a way of expressing their well wishes in a casual manner. In modern language, farewell phrases are evolving with popular culture and trends, with phrases like 'Catch you on the flip side'”.

By the way, does it bother you that we often hear “Have a good day” instead of “Thank you” as we leave a store where we just spent some money.

The website also reveals that, “In ancient times, farewell phrases often had superstitious beliefs attached to them. For example, in ancient Rome, it was believed that saying goodbye or farewell would bring bad luck, so people would avoid saying farewell directly. Instead, they would say phrases like 'vale' or 'be well' as a way of parting without invoking any negative consequences.”

But the website admits that “In religious contexts, farewell phrases often include blessings or well wishes. For example, in Christianity, the phrase 'God be with you' or 'Go with God' is commonly used as a way to extend God’s protection and guidance to the person being bid farewell.”

That certainly seems to be Paul's purpose in his closing remarks to the Thessalonian church. And isn't it a wonderful thing to be aware of the presence of God! The psalmist said knowing that God was with him made it so that he was not afraid, even if going through the valley of the shadow of death. You see, when the Lord is with you, He will give: