In John 16, Jesus is preparing his disciples for some rough times ahead. He is about to be betrayed by one of their own, endure the humiliation of the cross, and the agony of an unjust death.
He challenges them with, “But take heart.” Why are they to “take heart?” Is it because they picked the right side? Is is because they are more righteous than others? Is it because they possess a greater measure of wisdom and knowledge? Is it because they have the security that comes with refrigerators and banks accounts that are full? Is it because they are tough as nails and believe deeper and truer than anyone else around?
No, He tells them to take heart because, “I have overcome the world.” He precedes this statement with explaining that this fallen world and this earthly life is gonna have problems and pain.
“In the world you will have tribulation.” Tribulation is defined as “a cause of great trouble or suffering.” Yeah, that sounds like life alright.
BUT TAKE HEART!!!!!!
In this world there will be toxic relationships, there will be complicated scenarios, impossible situations, lamentable injustices, fearful outcomes, unbearable and unrelenting pain of every kind….BUT TAKE HEART!!!
Jesus shares just prior to this that his disciples will be scattered. The very people he loves, shares life with, invests the most in, proves Himself to time and time again will be scattered and He will be left isolated and alone. And even then Jesus explains that through it all He, against all odds and evidence, is, in fact, neither isolated nor alone. The Father is with Him.
Life can be heavy and heinous at times. 1 Peter 5 explains that our adversary, the devil, is roaring like a lion, seeking whom he may devour. Most days that isn’t hard for us to wrap our minds around and visualize because we feel the ache of the barrage of his persistent attacks deep in our bones and broken hearts.
I don’t mean to cheapen or oversimplify what we have to endure. But, I do feel like there are seasons in our lives where we overcomplicate it all. We are called to endure, but, in all of our enduring, let us remember that He has already overcome. There is rest from the chaos and confusion that is all around us in that truth, and, more importantly and more completely, in Him. Considering the complexities of the tangled web we daily navigate, this thought might seem trite, but, with my whole heart, I believe it to also be true. While there are days and moments when I don’t act like I genuinely believe this truth, I’m thankful that the truth of God’s actions and words are not subject to my inconsistencies. God’s word is authoritative, not our feelings and fluctuations.
As we roll through processing pain of this past year towards the anxieties of the unknown in the new year to come, let us take heart! Because Jesus Christ has overcome it all. There is rest in Him. There is deliverance in Him. There is hope in Him. There is strength in Him. There is comfort in Him. There is life in Him. There is joy in Him. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights.