One of the most important things to learn, and to grasp firmly in our thinking, is that the Lord is faithful. He did all the saving in our salvation, and He will complete it to the end. When we consider all that we have in Christ, we as Christians can rejoice and live the carefree life He provided for us.

When we fail, it is not because the Lord didn't keep His promise, it is because we failed. The original Greek says, "Who will establish you and guard you from the evil one." The believers at Thessalonica needed settled, steady confidence in the Lord Jesus, and that is our great need today. We are told: "Finally, my brethren be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might" (Ephesians 6:10).

One of our greatest needs is stability! The dictionary describes it as firmness, being fixed in position, permanence, steadfastness of character, purpose, etc. The more we know about God (through His Word), and the perfect provision He has provided for all believers, the greater will be our stability. Because His ways are not our ways, or His thoughts our thoughts, we need to know what pleases Him and what displeases Him. We are told: "That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive" (Ephesians 4:14).

The Apostle Paul was a great example of a believer that was stable. He reveals his secret in living the Christian life in Philipians 3:10 -- "That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death." Everywhere Paul went to preach the gospel he was met with beatings, shipwrecks, being forsaken by his brethren, but none of these things moved him--his one desire was to preach Christ.

All through Paul's Epistles, he mentions his prayers for them that they would come to know Him so that they would walk worthy of the Lord (Colossians 1:10). The only way to know Him is to study God's Word and get to know His wisdom, His love, His faithfulness, His holiness, His justice, His Grace and His countless attributes. The more we learn about our God, the more we will love Him and desire to live a life pleasing to Him.

In conclusion, God has promised to keep us from evil. He accomplishes that through His Word. When our minds are occupied with Christ and all He has accomplished for us through His crosswork on Calvary, our desire will be to live for Him. We will never do this perfectly because of our sinful nature, but let's not let this be a cop-out. When we fail Him (none of us love Him the way we should, with all our hearts, and mind), let us not give up, "Faithful is He that calleth you, who also will do it" (1 Thessalonians 5:24).