“But now when Timotheus came from you unto us, and brought us good tidings of your faith and charity, and that ye have good remembrance of us always, desiring greatly to see us, as we also to see you: therefore, brethren, we were comforted over you in all our affliction and distress by your faith: for now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord.” 1st Thessalonians 3:6-8

One of the duties of fellowship in the church is to rejoice with those that rejoice and weep with those that weep. Our sharing of these experiences help us to better comprehend our worth in Christ.

When we share one another’s burdens this does not mean we have a whine session and just cry “woe is me.” It means that we share our experiences of how the Lord delivered through our trials. In doing this, we encourage our brethren to hold and trust in the Lord through their trials. It also means that we patiently wait with our troubled brother and pray for him.

Paul had experienced lots of trials and hardships. He was a veteran in those experiences. Yet, he was encouraged to keep pressing forward when he heard that new converts were standing strong in their trials. We never know who we might be encouraging!

Paul was so encouraged it gave him “new life” and a fresh passion to continue the spread of the gospel message.