I Thessalonians 2:17 – 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…
As Paul continues offering encouragement to the Thessalonian believers, he makes reference to the violent way in which he was suddenly ousted from the city. These events (which were outside of his control) are what stopped their face-to-face fellowship. 
Our English translations uses the phrase ‘torn away’ or ‘being taken’ to describe the separation of Paul from the Christians in Thessalonica. However, this is a weak rendering.
The original text implies a deeper and much more heart-felt loss than just companions who have been untimely separated. It entails grief, anxiety and reluctance of heart. The original Greek phrase refers to the condition of an orphan or a person who is suddenly bereaved of parents. The emphasis is on the overwhelming grief and sorrow of the parents, who are forced to leave their beloved children to the mercy of the cruel world.
In this instance, the phrase expresses the way Paul felt when he was suddenly and violently separated from his spiritual children in Thessalonica. He was grieved at leaving them in the midst of their malicious enemies (the unbelieving Jews) without guidance, defense and support.
In the natural realm, a child expects their father (and mother) to be there when they need help. That child would naturally feel abandoned if their father disappeared just when they needed him most. His disappearance would erode all trust; the child could never again be fully confident of his father’s love, faithfulness or guidance.
In the same way, the Christians of Thessalonica expected their spiritual father to stand by them and assist them in every possible way, especially in times of trouble.
When Paul was unable to do that, it may have caused feelings of suspicion, distrust or contempt within the church. Therefore, it was imperative for him to explain that he did not willingly leave them. Being separated from them in such a way was causing him the utmost grief and sorrow.
Paul goes on to reassure the believers that even in the midst of their physical separation, they were constantly in his heart and mind. The best thing he could do for them at that point was to pray for them – and that is exactly what he did.
In the meantime, Paul’s absence strengthened rather than diminished his desire to fellowship with them again. He had high hopes that this face-to-face separation would only be for a brief period.
More specifically, he hoped that once he arrived in Berea (Acts 17:10), that the opposition to him and the gospel would soon calm down, and he could safely return to continue ‘parenting’ the Thessalonians in their spiritual growth. But unfortunately, as we will see in the next few verses, that was not the case.
I Thessalonians 2:18 - …because we wanted to come to you – I, Paul, again and again – but Satan hindered us.
Although Paul had been ousted from the city, Timothy continued to minister there for some time (I Thessalonians 3:2, 6). This is probably why Paul says ‘we’ wanted to return, but then emphasizes that he himself sought every opportunity to go back to Thessalonica.
Paul clearly states that it was Satan who circumvented his plans on multiple occasions. How did he do that? 
Paul does not give us definite details, but when we examine the text, we can identify a number of different circumstances which opposed/frustrated the will of Paul:
First, there was the mob which originally forced him to flee from Thessalonica to Berea. Under normal circumstances, the angry mob would have spent their rage, calmed down and then gone back to their everyday lives. However, in this case, the Jews instigated the mob to travel to Berea, where they chased Paul out of that city too. Upon leaving Berea, he travelled to Athens. Satan was clearly the one who was influencing the Jews to harass and persecute Paul.
As Paul waited in Athens for Silas and Timothy, he was disturbed by the number of idols throughout the city. As we would expect, he went to the synagogue, declared the gospel, and reasoned with the Jews. Scripture tells us that every day he also spoke to ‘devout’ persons which he encountered in the public marketplace (Acts 17:16-21).
When the Stoics, the Athenians, the Epicurean philosophers and other foreigners heard the gospel, they asked him to stay in the city and speak again. Sadly, their main desire was not to be touched with the gospel. It was to have a new idea to debate and dispute. Scripture tells us that some people did come to Christ, (Acts 17:32-24), but nevertheless these events prevented Paul from returning to Thessalonica.
Paul’s return may also have been frustrated by general disturbances among other churches caused by false teachers or internal disputes among believers. These types of situations were urgent and required him to visit those places in person to oppose and refute false doctrines, and to settle controversies/quarrels within the church. It seems like Paul spent a considerable amount of time just putting out fires!
Some scholars believe that Paul was making reference to the numerous attempts by the Jews to kill him. For instance, when Paul first began to proclaim Jesus as the Messiah, the Jews were so enraged at the effectiveness of the gospel that they plotted to capture him at the city gates and kill him. Through the intervention of Holy Spirit, the plot became known to Paul and he escaped by having his disciples lower him in a basket down the city wall at night (Acts 9:20-25).
Later, after spending time in Greece and planning to depart by ship to Syria, he discovered yet another plot/ambush set against him by the Jews (Acts 20:1-3). This too was unsuccessful. There may very well have been other attempts on Paul’s life which we do not know about.
What we do know is that Paul credits the attempts on his life and the thwarting of his plans to Satan. When writing to the Ephesian church, he reminds Christians that we do not fight against men, but against the evil powers that influence them:
Ephesians 6:12 – For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
Paul teachings were very clear on this point – wicked men and women are fighting under the banner of Satan; they follow his lead and obey his orders. Even now, Satan and his human soldiers constantly seek to hinder and obstruct the work of the church, the unity of the church, and the encouragement of the saints.
Fortunately, we as Christians are in a spiritual army too. Under Jesus Christ our Commander and Chief, we are arrayed in battle against the forces of darkness. Just as the Israelites had to fight to possess the Promised Land, so the church must fight to possess new territory for the kingdom of heaven. As we battle to win the souls of men and women to Christ, Satan will hinder us at every turn, just as he did Paul.
But we have no reason to fear. Scripture tells us that the gates of hell cannot prevail against the church:
Matthew 16:18 – And I [Jesus] tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Question: What do we know about city gates?
Answer: They are a defensive weapon, not an offensive one! In other words, under the direction of Holy Spirit, the church will storm the gates of hell and violently tear them down. We will then invade the kingdom of darkness and rescue lost souls, bringing them into the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 11:12).
Satan greatly fears this because he knows he is powerless to stop it. That is why he works so hard to impede our plans and to destroy us, if possible:
I Peter 5:8 – Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 
In his attempts to render us ineffective in the army of God, Satan ‘baits’ us with temptations. The Christian who ‘takes the bait’ or embraces sin becomes a hindrance to the very gospel he or she is trying to promote! In a way, we could say that committing sin is similar to committing treason against our King.
For this reason, it is important that all of us pay attention to our own personal holiness.
I Peter 1:14-15 - As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct.
Obviously, none of us are perfect and we will continue to sin as long as we are on this earth. But that does not give us the ‘green light’ to carelessly indulge in sin. We must circumcise our hearts and remove as much sin from our lives as possible.
The good news is that we have Holy Spirit to help us. He leads and guides us into all truth. He helps us identify Satan’s ambushes and avoid them (II Corinthians 2:11). He abides with us and draws us closer to Christ. Because we love and honor Jesus, we will desire to keep ourselves holy and to be obedient to his commandments (John 14:15-24).
As we study this portion of scripture, there is an important point that we do not want to overlook: Satan can hinder the will/plans of man, but not the will and plans of God.
Satan foiled the plans of Paul by keeping him from returning to Thessalonica. However, he cannot stop the will of God which was for Paul to minister in other places. Indeed, sinners were saved in every place that Paul preached the gospel.
Romans 16:20 – The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.
Furthermore, it should be noted that the only power Satan has is the power which God allows him. And not only is his power limited, he will only exercise it for a very short season.
I Thessalonians 2:19-20 – 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.
Paul now gives the reason why he was so concerned about leaving them and why he was so anxious to see them again – because they were his hope, his joy, and his crown of boasting.
HOPE: Hope is the desire of something good accompanied by the expectation of obtaining it.
Paul’s hope is that the Thessalonian converts would be found in Christ at his second coming (I Thessalonians 3:13). Paul expects this to be the case because of two things.
One, God is always faithful to his promises.
Two, the Thessalonian believers were fully committed to serving God. This was evident by the spiritual fruit that was being produced in their lives. Since being redeemed by the blood of Christ, they exhibited faith, holiness and love. They showed perseverance in the face of persecution. They were a strong witness to Christ in their region and beyond.
JOY: Paul endured many hardships in order to bring the gospel to Thessalonica, and he could rejoice knowing that his work was not in vain! He is full of joy because the Thessalonians now displayed the glory of God. They walked in the truth and led lives that honored Christ.
Upon the second coming/return of the Lord, Paul would be able to give an account of them with joy, not with grief (Hebrews 13:17).
CROWN: The Thessalonians were Paul’s crown of boasting because they were like trophies of divine grace - captives delivered from the power of Satan (sin and death) and set free in the kingdom of Christ (forgiveness and life).
When God brings the events of this world to a conclusion, true ministers of the gospel will have no greater source of joy or happiness than the salvation of the souls they attended to.
The conversion and steadfast faith of the Thessalonians was like a seal of Paul’s apostleship. It was proof that God had sent him (and his team) to bring them the gospel.
Overall, the expressions used by Paul in this verse are meant to assure the Thessalonians that he held them in high regard and he had great love and affection for them. His long absence from them was not caused because of a lack of love or concern for them; it was due to their mutual enemy.
Let me offer you some encouragement and relief:
In today’s post, we noted that the soldiers of darkness look for every opportunity to obstruct the unity of the church. You don’t hear many sermons about church unity. It’s probably not a topic that we think too much about unless there is a problem.
However, church unity is vitally important. Jesus tells us that a house divided against itself will essentially self-destruct (Mark 3:25).
As believers, it is our responsibility to overlook minor offences in our relationships with those in our body. In truth, it can be humbling or difficult to let those annoyances go, but we must learn to do so, in order to avoid giving Satan an opening into the church.
If you are letting minor annoyances build into anger or resentment against another believer, please stop! Take the time to remember the good qualities of your brother/sister. Make note of the circumstances they are experiencing. Pray for them. Give thanks to God for their service and the gifts they bring to the body.
By doing so, you can rediscover all the good things about them and keep unity in the body.
Let me offer you some strength:
When we discussed Paul’s crown of boasting, we noted that at the end of this age, true ministers of the gospel will have no greater joy or pleasure than seeing the salvation of souls.
The title ‘minister’ doesn’t just refer to spiritual leaders like Paul or your pastor. A minister is anyone who attends to the spiritual needs of another. All Christians are part of this group.
In fact, scripture tells us that we have become priests in the kingdom of God (I Peter 2:9). Priests were the men who acted as the conduit or means of communication between men and God. In this role, we are to offer spiritual life, spiritual comfort and spiritual encouragement to all those around us. When we are faithful to do this, it brings life, joy and strength to others.
Think of it - we can make an eternal difference in the lives of others! What greater legacy can we leave to the next generation? What greater reward can we ask for in the next life?