John
16:29-33
“At last you are speaking plainly,” his disciples said, “and not in riddles. Now we understand that you know everything and don’t need anyone to tell you anything. From this we believe that you came from God.”
“Do you finally believe this?” Jesus asked. “But the time is coming—in fact, it is here—when you will be scattered, each one returning to his own home, leaving me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. I have told you all this so that you will have peace of heart and mind. In the world you will have trouble, but be brave: I have conquered the world.”
Food for thought!
Today, just as yesterday, Jesus is cautioning us that in this world we will have trouble! This is a promise we so often forget at our peril. Troubles in life are not accidents; they're incidents allowed by our loving Father. That's why whenever we have sudden, unexpected problems on multiple fronts, they may represent a strategic attack by the Devil. That’s one of the lessons from the early chapters of the book of Job, when Satan arranged for successive waves of tragedy to hit Job, one after another, in an intense, sustained effort to destroy him and his faith. These were Satan’s cluster bombs. Remember that Satan tempted Jesus three times, one attempt after another in rapid succession. For that reason, whenever I see a series of unfortunate events occurring in my life, one after the other, almost in timed precision, I consider that to be a sustained, strategic satanic attack.
It is during these troublesome times that God wants to teach us His richest and deepest lessons: the Lord intends to stabilize, strengthen, and develop us—that’s one of the reasons He allows troubles to come. They are His tools in conforming us to Christ, His Son. This is why Jesus is commending us to be brave.
What we must remember, in our darkest moments of life, is that God has often led us to the very place where we cry out in despair to deliver us, like Joseph in Egypt or Jesus in the wilderness or the Jews at the Red Sea, in the valley where all hope seems gone. And He has done so to teach us a much needed lesson in our walk of faith— we cannot deliver ourselves from a crisis that God himself has orchestrated.
But through it all, in every trouble, we should trust in God’s presence, as Jesus said: I am not alone because the Father is with me. Remember Psalm 23. It says, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." Did you notice the words "shadow of death"? Don't miss the one crucial word "shadow". It’s just a shadow — it’s not real death. Our problems are just shaddows; they're not the real thing; they're not death. Do you remember the words Jesus said to his disciples about the death of Lazarus? He said, "This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it." ( John 11:4)
This is what Jesus says of every problem and trouble and crisis of ours: "This trouble or problem or crisis does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it." Our troubles are shadows of something else. Our problems are all metaphors. They're THROUGH moments. Remember Joseph, who went looking for his brothers in Genesis 37. He was just seventeen-year-old at the time. When his brothers kidnapped him and sold him into slavery, it was the beginning of a thirteen-year ordeal that included bondage, prison, false charges of sexual assault, and repeated disappointments. Joseph’s first response was terror, anguish, and pleading (Genesis 42: 21). But when he emerged from this shadow of death at age thirty, he was ready to be prime minister of Egypt. That’s the thing about troubles. They may have shadows and sorrows, but they are “through” passages.
Psalm 23: 4 does not speak of a cave or a dead-end trail. It’s a valley, which means it has an opening on both ends. Note that the Psalm doesn't say, "though I walk in the valley." It says "though I walk THROUGH the valley." The emphasis is on through, which indicates a temporary state, a transition, a brighter path ahead, a hopeful future lies ahead. That’s precisely what happened with Hezekiah, as he later testified, "Indeed, it was for my own welfare that I had such great bitterness; but Your love has delivered me. (Isa. 38:17a)
I have told you all this so that you will have peace of heart and mind. In the world you will have trouble, but be brave: I have conquered the world.
“At last you are speaking plainly,” his disciples said, “and not in riddles. Now we understand that you know everything and don’t need anyone to tell you anything. From this we believe that you came from God.”
“Do you finally believe this?” Jesus asked. “But the time is coming—in fact, it is here—when you will be scattered, each one returning to his own home, leaving me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. I have told you all this so that you will have peace of heart and mind. In the world you will have trouble, but be brave: I have conquered the world.”
Food for thought!
Today, just as yesterday, Jesus is cautioning us that in this world we will have trouble! This is a promise we so often forget at our peril. Troubles in life are not accidents; they're incidents allowed by our loving Father. That's why whenever we have sudden, unexpected problems on multiple fronts, they may represent a strategic attack by the Devil. That’s one of the lessons from the early chapters of the book of Job, when Satan arranged for successive waves of tragedy to hit Job, one after another, in an intense, sustained effort to destroy him and his faith. These were Satan’s cluster bombs. Remember that Satan tempted Jesus three times, one attempt after another in rapid succession. For that reason, whenever I see a series of unfortunate events occurring in my life, one after the other, almost in timed precision, I consider that to be a sustained, strategic satanic attack.
It is during these troublesome times that God wants to teach us His richest and deepest lessons: the Lord intends to stabilize, strengthen, and develop us—that’s one of the reasons He allows troubles to come. They are His tools in conforming us to Christ, His Son. This is why Jesus is commending us to be brave.
What we must remember, in our darkest moments of life, is that God has often led us to the very place where we cry out in despair to deliver us, like Joseph in Egypt or Jesus in the wilderness or the Jews at the Red Sea, in the valley where all hope seems gone. And He has done so to teach us a much needed lesson in our walk of faith— we cannot deliver ourselves from a crisis that God himself has orchestrated.
But through it all, in every trouble, we should trust in God’s presence, as Jesus said: I am not alone because the Father is with me. Remember Psalm 23. It says, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." Did you notice the words "shadow of death"? Don't miss the one crucial word "shadow". It’s just a shadow — it’s not real death. Our problems are just shaddows; they're not the real thing; they're not death. Do you remember the words Jesus said to his disciples about the death of Lazarus? He said, "This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it." ( John 11:4)
This is what Jesus says of every problem and trouble and crisis of ours: "This trouble or problem or crisis does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it." Our troubles are shadows of something else. Our problems are all metaphors. They're THROUGH moments. Remember Joseph, who went looking for his brothers in Genesis 37. He was just seventeen-year-old at the time. When his brothers kidnapped him and sold him into slavery, it was the beginning of a thirteen-year ordeal that included bondage, prison, false charges of sexual assault, and repeated disappointments. Joseph’s first response was terror, anguish, and pleading (Genesis 42: 21). But when he emerged from this shadow of death at age thirty, he was ready to be prime minister of Egypt. That’s the thing about troubles. They may have shadows and sorrows, but they are “through” passages.
Psalm 23: 4 does not speak of a cave or a dead-end trail. It’s a valley, which means it has an opening on both ends. Note that the Psalm doesn't say, "though I walk in the valley." It says "though I walk THROUGH the valley." The emphasis is on through, which indicates a temporary state, a transition, a brighter path ahead, a hopeful future lies ahead. That’s precisely what happened with Hezekiah, as he later testified, "Indeed, it was for my own welfare that I had such great bitterness; but Your love has delivered me. (Isa. 38:17a)
I have told you all this so that you will have peace of heart and mind. In the world you will have trouble, but be brave: I have conquered the world.
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