“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.
John 16:33
Overcoming the World
How often have you ever doubted whether
you were actually saved or not? I know of several people who have done
just that. It is sometimes from a lack of time in prayer, a lack of time
spent in the Word of God, an ongoing sin, or maybe all three. Jesus
said to the disciples to not be troubled about the things of the world
because He has overcome the world (John 16:33). The disciples were
anxious because Jesus had just told them that He was going away and they
didn’t know what they were going to do without Him. They focused on
that more than on Jesus’ promise that He would come again for them and
take them to where He was going (John 14:3). It seems that the pressure
of this world can give us amnesia over the promises of God, and I am
certainly not immune to that.
Jesus’ Peace
Jesus had earlier said that He would
leave them His peace but not the same kind of peace that the world gives
(John 14:27), which is really no permanent peace at all. Jesus’ peace
would remain with them through all of their upcoming trials and
tribulations, and Jesus wanted them to focus on His promises and not on
the pressures of life that would surely come their way. It’s a very
interesting fact of nature that one of the most precious gems in the
world is formed under great pressure, and if not for that enormous
pressure, we’d have no diamonds. The pressures of the world are
constantly trying to conform us into its own image, but we have to
choose to be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Rom. 12:2). To be
renewed in our minds is to choose to have our minds renewed. God never
forces His will upon anybody. We are free moral agents and must choose
good over evil, so we cannot let the pressures of this world trouble us
to the point that we forget the promises of God.
Grief Now, Joy Later
Jesus didn’t ignore the grief that the
disciples felt knowing that He was about to go away, but He acknowledged
their grief by telling them that He was about to go away (John 16:6).
However, He reminded them that their grief would soon be turned into joy
(John 16:22). Paul didn’t try to cover up the present sufferings that
believers were going through, but he wanted them to compare what they
were going through then to the glory that was coming someday (Rom. 8:18)
and that even in our suffering, it would turn out to our advantage
(Rom. 8:28). Paul was not a pessimist. He thought ahead of those things
that were coming, and it helped him endure his present hardships. So why
let the pressures of this life bother you when Jesus has said that He
has overcome the world?
A Closing Prayer
Father, please help me to put into
perspective the present times of being hard-pressed against that of an
unspeakable future of eternal joy and bliss in Your presence someday.
Let me dwell on the eternal things while still living in the present,
and in Jesus’ most precious name I pray.
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