John 16:33, “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.”
I love the fact that Jesus didn’t promise a world without trouble but promised peace in the midst of trouble; otherwise we’d think He lied to us when we faced things in life. Jesus knew that trouble would be with us until He came back and judged the world, so He wanted us to be confident that God has our back.
Troubles come in all shapes and sizes and in various ways at different times. Once you overcome one trouble, there always seem to be two more waiting to take a shot at you. Take heart, have courage and don’t be afraid of your troubles because Jesus has already overcome them.
Before you had a problem, Jesus was the Problem Solver. Before you were sick, He was the Healer. Before you were broke, He was the Provider. Before you were a sinner, He was the Savior. Jesus has always been all you ever needed; He has just been waiting for you to believe it.
C.S. Lewis wrote, “God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.” Sadly, in our troubles, most of us lose our peace because we react to the troubles we are facing with fear, anxiety, worry, anger or doubt instead of responding with God’s Word. We need to learn to trust Jesus in our troubles because our conquering King overcame every trouble we face. Jesus defeated Satan, death, sickness, hell, sorrow, poverty, loneliness and sin. There isn’t any trouble that you and I can face that Jesus hasn’t already conquered.
Don’t let the troubles of this world take away your peace but rather let your troubles draw you closer to Jesus in prayer. Paul wrote, in Philippians 4:6-7, “6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Guard your peace by setting your thoughts on Jesus and in prayer cast all your cares on Him because He cares for you!
REFLECTION
Do you have the peace of God?
ACTION
- Cast all of your anxious thoughts on Jesus in prayer with thanksgiving.
- Confess that the peace of God is within you by the Holy Spirit.
- Courageously guard your peace with God’s Word by thinking and speaking the Word.
