Leslie Wittenmyer
October 19, 2024
John 16:33, New Living Translation
“I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”
There’s no shame if you are a Christian and you are struggling. Jesus never promised us that life would be easy, but He did promise that He would be with us and that He has overcome the world. “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33, NLT)
What does Jesus mean when He tells us to not lose Heart? He wants us not to lose hope. When we are so focused on our circumstances and perhaps the things that are going wrong or not the way we want them to, we can lose heart or become hopeless. But there is something Paul tells us in Colossians 3:1-4 (NLT), “Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.” Jesus told us about the same thing in John 16:33. Where? When he said that, He overcame the world. It all points to His crucifixion and His resurrection! Our Savior may have hung on a cross, but He didn’t stay there! He defeated death, hell, and the grave! Why did he do this? He did it for you and He did it for me!
Without Christ, there would be no Salvation, but because of His love poured out for us as an offering for our sins, we have redemption. These are the “realities of heaven” that Paul was talking about!
The devil will do his best to get us to lose sight of these realities of heaven. He will want you to blame God and be angry with Him. We mustn’t let him deceive us! Jesus said we would have trials. How will we choose to handle these trials? 2 Corinthians 5:7 (NLT) says, “For we live by believing and not by seeing.” Other translations say, we walk by faith and not by sight. When we are looking at our circumstances and allowing those circumstances to direct or define our thoughts and emotions, we are walking by sight, not faith. It’s difficult to trust the things that are unseen. Hebrews 11:6 (NLT) says, “And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.”
When you are struggling, don’t be overcome with shame. Don’t be overcome by your circumstances, that at the time may not look favorable. Sincerely see Him. Trust Him and trust His word! His word tells us to look up for our redemption draws nigh! Will you trust and believe?
Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT), “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the LORD. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.’”
Romans 8:28 (NLT), “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”