Every translation I checked for 2 Thessalonians 3:3 begins the verse with the word “But.” What’s the big deal about that? The chapter begins with Paul asking his brethren to “pray for us.” First and foremost, Paul wanted “the word of the Lord” to be able to “run swiftly and be glorified.” Then, he longed to “be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men,” who do not “have faith.” There were perverse and powerful individuals who were trying to thwart the efforts of Paul and hinder “the faith.” It would be easy to focus on those detractors. Paul did not!
“BUT the Lord is faithful!” Some men are not faithful, BUT the Lord is faithful! Some men are wicked and corrupt, BUT the Lord is faithful! Some men will disappoint you, BUT the Lord is faithful! The contrasting conjunction “but” is there to help us to see the Lord in a different light than we see anyone else or anything else! He is ALWAYS faithful! So, what should I do?
Go back to verse 1. The more faithful the Lord is, the more I should…”pray!”