From the Riot to the Unit
Before we can understand Paul’s letter, we have to look at the chaos where it all began in Acts 17. This is the "origin story" of the church in Thessalonica. When Paul, Silas, and Timothy arrived to share their message, they weren’t met with a quiet welcome; they were met with a riot. Jealous locals formed a mob and attacked the house where they were staying, forcing Paul and his team to flee in the middle of the night.
This sets the stage for everything that follows. When Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians, he isn't speaking from a place of comfort—he’s writing a follow-up to a rescue mission. He is deeply concerned about this brand-new church, wondering how they are surviving the same "persecutions" that drove him out. This church was born in fire and chaos, much like the "trial by fire" many of us experience in our first year of nursing! When I look back at my time on the floor, I realize my church was the Max Psych unit, and I was just trying to figure out how to survive the fire I was standing in.
Chosen to be Different
In the very opening of his letter, Paul drops a heavy truth in 1 Thessalonians 1:4:
"For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you..."
In the middle of my trauma—when people were screaming and lies were being told about my character—I felt "chosen" too. But I felt chosen to be a scapegoat. I felt targeted, like I was the person everyone had picked to fail. But there is a massive difference between being targeted by the world and being chosen by God. In my trauma, I thought my "chosen-ness" depended on my performance or how well I could "match the energy" of those attacking me. And Paul reminds us that our identity is set before we ever walk onto the floor. I am not a nurse who happens to be a Christian; I am a chosen child of God who has been sent into nursing.
Sent, But Not Alone
This brings us to the "High Priestly Prayer" in John 17. Here, Jesus is praying for us right before His own moment of ultimate trauma! In verse 18,
He says: “As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.”
I wasn’t at that Max Psych unit by accident or a mistake of a hiring manager. In a spiritual sense, I was sent. However, being sent doesn't mean escaping the darkness; Jesus was sent, and He faced the ultimate darkness. My trauma wasn't a sign that I wasn't "chosen"—it was the environment where my identity was being refined. In John 17:14–16, Jesus explains that the world hates believers because they are "not of the world." He doesn’t ask God to take them out of the chaos, but to protect them from the evil one while they are in it.
In the Unit, Not Of the Unit
Looking back, I realize my trauma was deepest when I forgot I wasn't "of" that unit. When the environment got loud, I got loud. When the staff became deceitful, I became defensive. I was trying to survive by becoming a citizen of a toxic world rather than a representative of a quiet Kingdom. Matching their energy was an attempt to belong to that world just to survive it. But my realization in the bathroom—in that moment of physical and emotional loss—was God pulling me back. He was reminding me that I belong to a different Kingdom. I was being protected from the "evil one" even when I couldn't see it.
The Oneness That Sustains
Jesus also prays in John 17:21 that we would all be “one.” On my unit, I felt the exact opposite. When staff would walk out mid-shift and leave me alone, I felt isolated and abandoned. But the "oneness" Jesus speaks of is a connection to Him that no coworker can break by walking out on a shift. When we are chosen, we are never truly alone, even when the radio is screaming for a restraint. He doesn’t pray for us to have an easy shift or a quiet unit; He prays that while we are in the chaos, we would not be of it. My trauma came from trying to match the volume and the venom of the floor. And the truth is, I was chosen to be a light in that darkness, not a part of it. I was sent there for a purpose, and I was kept there by His grace.
An Intentional Position
The "ambition of a quiet life" isn't a retreat; it's an intentional position. Like the church in Thessalonica, we are born into a world that doesn't always speak peace. Like the disciples in John 17, we are sent into environments that try to strip us of our identity. But when you realize you are chosen, the noise loses its power. You no longer have to yell to be heard by God, and you no longer have to "match energy" to prove you belong. You belong to the One who sent you.
Reflective Questions for the Week
Where are you "sent" right now? Is it a workplace, a family dynamic, or a season of grief? How does viewing yourself as "sent" by God change how you walk through that door tomorrow?
Are you "in" it or "of" it? Identify one area where you’ve been "matching the energy" of a toxic environment. What would it look like to respond with "quiet strength" instead?
The Identity Check: When people tell lies about you, do you find yourself trying to prove your worth to them, or can you rest in the fact that you are already chosen?