Why is it we are surprised when we encounter trials in this world. Just yesterday my college roommate’s car broke down in Fort Worth leaving him stranded. He called me to pick him up and was disheartened to learn the repairs would cost nearly $2,000 which he did not have at the time. I visited with another family whose air conditioning went out in their house. The husband told me it was over one hundred degrees inside as we sat and visited under some shade trees.
Trials and tribulations happen to all of us. Some relate to other people and decisions they make. Who has not had to deal with family or friends involved in destructive behavior? The pesky tests also can come in financial form like for my friend and his car. They might manifest themselves in health issues like watching an aging parent slowly deteriorate physically and mentally. They come in the form of a rebellious child who continually breaks your heart.
Jesus does not sugar coat the fact that following Him is not easy and does not exempt us from trials and tribulations. Not long before He was crucified He had a heart to heart talk with His disciples. He knew the trials they would face and wanted to give them words that would serve to strengthen their resolve in the difficult days. He told them they would be turned on by people in the synagogues who would not only outcast them but seek to put them to death. He foretold of His own death and resurrection and promised the Holy Spirit would be sent to comfort them. Then, Jesus ended their discussion with this verse, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” [Jn 16:33]
Jesus did not promise a problem free life for His followers. Just because you are in a relationship with God does not exempt you from facing trials. What Jesus does promise is that if we are in relationship with Him and walk with Him through the pilgrimage of life that we can have peace. The word peace means a tranquil place in the soul. There is a calm center even though outside the center there may be chaos. The word peace also means to be content with our earthly lot in life. Paul summed it up best when he wrote, “Not that I speak from want for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.” [Phil 4:11-12] Paul knew how to be content with his earthly lot. His life was tough and he faced numerous trials most of us will never have to endure such as physical persecution.
No matter what we are going through we can have peace in the midst of trouble. This baffles people who do not know God. I recall the mother of a friend of mine who was dying of breast cancer and talking to everyone she came in contact with in the hospital exhorting them to get right with God. She radiated joy despite a broken body. She defied her tribulation with a good attitude and by not blaming God for her troubles but rather leaning on Him for strength to endure in the faith to the last breath.
I have read of countless missionaries who suffered hardships and yet endured them with joy and stayed faithful to their task. Read about the lives of William Carey who went to India only to see his wife suffer a nervous breakdown which incapacitated her for years before she died. He buried children in the foreign soil and yet he did not pack up and go home. Adoniram Judson buried two wives and several children in Burma, yet he kept going until disease ravaged his body forcing him to take a sea voyage for relief. The relief did not come in this life as he died on the ship and was buried at sea. His third wife did not get word of this for four months and she was coping with the birth of new child. They were only married for four brief years. When Judson’s wife returned to New England she died of tuberculosis eleven years later. Some of God’s choice servants had to endure severe trials and tribulations.
In our emotionally fragile society we do not know how to handle adversity. We question God’s love, think He is punishing us, or cry out that our lot in life is unfair as we compare our situations to those of others around us. Instead of seeing trials as a normal part of life people turn to drugs, alcohol, sex, prescription drugs, or fantasy entertainment to help escape the hardship and the pain thinking they are facing trials foreign to other earth dwellers. All this does is to exasperate the trials even more and hurt those close to us.
So how do we cope? In Jn 16:33 He concludes that verse by telling us we must take courage. The word courage means to be of good cheer. What is there to be cheerful about when the car is in the shop, the a/c breaks down, your health is deteriorating, and when there is not enough money to make it to the end of the month and you get behind on bills and creditors start calling? Jesus tells us the reason for our courage and good cheer is that He has overcome the world.
The word overcome means that Jesus has conquered and proven victorious over this world. Herein lies much of the problem. We forget that for a Christian this world is really not our home. We were created for eternity and no matter how hard we try, no matter how many times we are deceived by commercials, this will never be Heaven. We may enjoy a blessed life but that does not mean that there will be no trials or tribulations. We will most assuredly face both. What gives us courage and reason to be cheerful is that no matter how hard it is down here, better days await in Heaven. Picture life as a hard marathon and Heaven as the finish line where there is relief. We may have to gut it out to get there but the reward will be worth it.
Trials and tribulations should not frighten us. We should expect them from time to time and when they do come we need to be reminded that Jesus offers peace and that He has overcome and prevailed. There is nothing that you and I will ever face that Jesus has not triumphed over. Come what may, if you have Jesus you have more than enough not only to cope but to overcome any trial or tribulation.
Trials and tribulations happen to all of us. Some relate to other people and decisions they make. Who has not had to deal with family or friends involved in destructive behavior? The pesky tests also can come in financial form like for my friend and his car. They might manifest themselves in health issues like watching an aging parent slowly deteriorate physically and mentally. They come in the form of a rebellious child who continually breaks your heart.
Jesus does not sugar coat the fact that following Him is not easy and does not exempt us from trials and tribulations. Not long before He was crucified He had a heart to heart talk with His disciples. He knew the trials they would face and wanted to give them words that would serve to strengthen their resolve in the difficult days. He told them they would be turned on by people in the synagogues who would not only outcast them but seek to put them to death. He foretold of His own death and resurrection and promised the Holy Spirit would be sent to comfort them. Then, Jesus ended their discussion with this verse, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” [Jn 16:33]
Jesus did not promise a problem free life for His followers. Just because you are in a relationship with God does not exempt you from facing trials. What Jesus does promise is that if we are in relationship with Him and walk with Him through the pilgrimage of life that we can have peace. The word peace means a tranquil place in the soul. There is a calm center even though outside the center there may be chaos. The word peace also means to be content with our earthly lot in life. Paul summed it up best when he wrote, “Not that I speak from want for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.” [Phil 4:11-12] Paul knew how to be content with his earthly lot. His life was tough and he faced numerous trials most of us will never have to endure such as physical persecution.
No matter what we are going through we can have peace in the midst of trouble. This baffles people who do not know God. I recall the mother of a friend of mine who was dying of breast cancer and talking to everyone she came in contact with in the hospital exhorting them to get right with God. She radiated joy despite a broken body. She defied her tribulation with a good attitude and by not blaming God for her troubles but rather leaning on Him for strength to endure in the faith to the last breath.
I have read of countless missionaries who suffered hardships and yet endured them with joy and stayed faithful to their task. Read about the lives of William Carey who went to India only to see his wife suffer a nervous breakdown which incapacitated her for years before she died. He buried children in the foreign soil and yet he did not pack up and go home. Adoniram Judson buried two wives and several children in Burma, yet he kept going until disease ravaged his body forcing him to take a sea voyage for relief. The relief did not come in this life as he died on the ship and was buried at sea. His third wife did not get word of this for four months and she was coping with the birth of new child. They were only married for four brief years. When Judson’s wife returned to New England she died of tuberculosis eleven years later. Some of God’s choice servants had to endure severe trials and tribulations.
In our emotionally fragile society we do not know how to handle adversity. We question God’s love, think He is punishing us, or cry out that our lot in life is unfair as we compare our situations to those of others around us. Instead of seeing trials as a normal part of life people turn to drugs, alcohol, sex, prescription drugs, or fantasy entertainment to help escape the hardship and the pain thinking they are facing trials foreign to other earth dwellers. All this does is to exasperate the trials even more and hurt those close to us.
So how do we cope? In Jn 16:33 He concludes that verse by telling us we must take courage. The word courage means to be of good cheer. What is there to be cheerful about when the car is in the shop, the a/c breaks down, your health is deteriorating, and when there is not enough money to make it to the end of the month and you get behind on bills and creditors start calling? Jesus tells us the reason for our courage and good cheer is that He has overcome the world.
The word overcome means that Jesus has conquered and proven victorious over this world. Herein lies much of the problem. We forget that for a Christian this world is really not our home. We were created for eternity and no matter how hard we try, no matter how many times we are deceived by commercials, this will never be Heaven. We may enjoy a blessed life but that does not mean that there will be no trials or tribulations. We will most assuredly face both. What gives us courage and reason to be cheerful is that no matter how hard it is down here, better days await in Heaven. Picture life as a hard marathon and Heaven as the finish line where there is relief. We may have to gut it out to get there but the reward will be worth it.
Trials and tribulations should not frighten us. We should expect them from time to time and when they do come we need to be reminded that Jesus offers peace and that He has overcome and prevailed. There is nothing that you and I will ever face that Jesus has not triumphed over. Come what may, if you have Jesus you have more than enough not only to cope but to overcome any trial or tribulation.
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