Verse of the...Month

'These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.' —John 16:33

Great song, huh? I thought it was strikingly honest, sadly dissimilar to what’s commonly confessed within church building walls.

Sometimes every one of us feels like we’ll never be healed


Sometimes every one of us aches like we’ll never be saved


Sometimes

It almost feels dirty to admit, but it’s true: there are times when the teeth of despair sink in to a depth where we wonder, where victory or healing or even salvation comes into question. Why? Because we too often look at life through a tainted lens. And because the world holds that much sway over our hearts.

But Jesus overcame the world, right? That’s what the verse says. Read it again. Slowly. We can have peace in Jesus, though the world puts us through the ringer.

Two thoughts surface. One, Jesus is clear: ‘In the world you have tribulation.’ Not that we may encounter it. Not even that there’s a strong chance we’ll meet it some night in a dark alley. We WILL have tribulation. No doubt about it. And in case there’s any ambiguity, note the synonyms: misfortune, trials, suffering, pain, ordeals, distress, difficulty, trouble, problems, hardship, even misery. Yuck. Ouch. But this is one of our many flaws—we approach life thinking we could elude it; we may outmaneuver it. Instead, we should expect it, we should wait for it, brace for it, know it’s just around the corner. And we should ready our response. We should ready a God-exalting response.

Jesus thinks that means ‘taking heart,’ or ‘taking courage.’ Basically, He exhorts us to put our trust in Him, in the face of all else. And this is the second thought. Jesus has overcome the world. He has defeated death, and if He’s done that, mere tribulation loses its ferocity, does it not? Peace, then, and rest for weary souls beaten down by worldly blows, is found in Christ alone. But here’s the key to the whole ‘taking heart (courage)’ endeavor: Jesus. If we’re not taking heart in HIM, we’ll find no courage. Our prayer, then, morphs from:

‘Jesus, take this or that away from me; help me escape these trials, please make them go away.’

To:

‘Jesus, be near to me. Draw me near to You. Be with me through this storm. As the wind picks up and the rain beats down, cover me, my Refuge, my Strength, my Deliverer.’

There’s a difference. With the first there’s a good chance the hardship will remain and peace (and proper, God-honoring perspective) will be far off. With the second, there’s a good chance the hardship will remain and Peace we will know, and know intimately.

The David Crowder song refers to the love of God as a sea without a shore. It’s that vast. That deep. Check out the bridge:

And risk the ocean, there’s only grace


Let’s risk the ocean, there’s only grace


Let’s risk the ocean, there’s only grace


Let’s risk the ocean, there’s only grace

Take courage when life deals you injustice, hardship, pain. Take to the ocean. And find the One who overcame every last thing the world could throw your way.


Grace to you, to both expect and endure calamity, by anchoring your soul in Him alone,

Voice of another