And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers. For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews, who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out, and displease God and oppose all mankind by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved—so as always to fill up the measure of their sins. But wrath has come upon them at last!
But since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time, in person not in heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face, because we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, again and again—but Satan hindered us. For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? For you are our glory and joy.
Comment: There are a lot of thoughts in these few verses! Paul starts out giving the Thessalonians a big plus for the way that they responded to the message which Paul and his group had brought. The Thessalonians realized, received, and accepted the message as coming from God. They didn’t assume that it was a concoction of human thinking. They were also prepared to learn from the experience of other churches. Was it by word of mouth or did they visit their neighboring fellow believers? At any rate they did their homework and got it right! It was obviously largely a gentile group as the Jews from there and probably from the areas which had maltreated Paul hated him and his group as they had travelled. Paul is claiming a similarity, in what was happening here, to the way that the Jews had treated the OT prophets and Jesus Himself. The Jews actions, Paul says, did not meet with God’s approval. To my understanding God only allows Satan to win to get His own way. Satan is sometimes used as a tool. Thus although Paul had a great love and concern for these people he was not able to come again to the people who, as brothers and sisters in Christ, he loved dearly! And thus the letter!
Prayer: Thank you Jesus that we have Your word as spoken by the Apostles and the early church.
As I read it! 
“To my understanding God only allows Satan to win to get His own way. Satan is sometimes used as a tool.” This is something I find almost too difficult to understand. Is this why some Christians are happy to support negative things?
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