The Doorpost: John 16:33

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33

Our tendency, when we face hardship, is to try to think of ways to get out of it. We wonder what we are doing wrong, because we somehow think that if we do the right things, life will be easy.

If we consider the lives of God’s servants in the Bible, we can see that their lives were not easy, even when they were living in obedience to God. Think about Abel, Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Elijah, John the Baptist, Jesus’ disciples, Stephen, and many more.

When Saul of Tarsus was beginning his life as a follower of Christ, the Lord said of him, “I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of My Name” (Acts 9:16). Near the end of his life, the Apostle Paul said, “Indeed, all who desire to live a Godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived” (2 Timothy 3:12-13).

Jesus Himself “… learned obedience through what He suffered” (Hebrews 5:8). Living for Him will not be easy for us either. There is trouble. Jesus told us it would come. But He also said that we can have peace in the middle of our troubles, and that He is greater than our troubles.