Paul's Longing to See the Thessalonians

17 As for us, brothers, when we were bereaved of you for a brief hour (being physically absent, but with you in our hearts), we longed with great eagerness to see you face to face. 18 [fn]Therefore we wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, tried to do so again and again—but Satan hindered us. 19 For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting in the presence of our Lord [fn]Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? 20 Yes, you are our glory and joy!

3 Therefore, when we could bear it no longer, we thought it best to stay in Athens alone, 2 and we sent Timothy, our brother, who is [fn]a servant of God and our fellow worker in the gospel of Christ, to establish you and encourage you in your faith, 3 so that no one would be shaken by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we have been appointed to afflictions such as these. 4 In fact, when we were with you, we told you in advance that we were going to suffer affliction, and as you well know, it has now happened. 5 For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent Timothy to find out about your faith, lest somehow the tempter had tempted you and our labor had been in vain.