Troubles
“. . . In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer,
I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33
I was driving along the road, when I noticed the needle on the car’s temperature gauge was going up. I stopped the car, turned off the engine and got out. Smoke was coming out from the front. The engine sizzled like bacon. I backed the car up a few metres and found a puddle beneath: oil! Instantly, I knew what had happened: The head gasket had blown. Just a couple of weeks earlier, I had paid for other expensive repairs, and now this.
Sometimes we avert one crisis, solve one problem, pay off one big bill, only to face another. Sometimes those troubles are much bigger than an engine self-destructing: an unexpected diagnosis, an untimely death, a terrible loss.
In times like that, we yearn for a world less broken, less full of trouble. That world, the Lord Jesus promised, is coming. But not yet: “In this world you will have trouble,” He reminded His disciples in John 16. “But take heart! I have overcome the world” (v 33). Jesus spoke in that chapter about having serious troubles, such as persecution for your faith. But such trouble, He taught, would never have the last word for those who hope in Him.
Troubles small and large come our way. But the Lord's promise of a better tomorrow with Him encourages us not to let our troubles define our lives today.
Bible Reading
John 16:25-33.
Prayer
Father, troubles never seem far away. But when they are close, You are even closer. Please help me to cling to You in trust today, and every day. In Jesus name. Amen.
コメント