Members of a Long-Suffering Kingdom (1 Thessalonians 3:1-10)

The Apostle Paul is invested in this church. He planted this church, he preached to these people, but he was not able to stay with the church because of the agitators in the city. Paul desires to know how the church is doing because they have not had the opportunity to be firmly rooted in the faith. So Paul writes to the church and receives word back from Timothy that is good gospel news. How does the suffering in this church encourage us today? What does it tell us about our current circumstances?