John 16:29-33 Then His disciples said, "At last You are speaking plainly and not figuratively. 30 Now we understand that You know everything, and there's no need to question You. From this we believe that You came from God."
31 Jesus asked, "Do you finally believe? 32 But the time is coming--indeed it's here now--when you will be scattered, each one going his own way, leaving Me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with Me.
33 I have told you all this so that you may have peace in Me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world."
The fact that you have the technology to see this blog post says that you probably have a very comfortable life. The odds are that you probably live in a culture that offers you a comfortable lifestyle and instant everything.
But none of the toys and conveniences that are so abundant can guarantee you an easy life. There is heartache and misery all around, some of you have had a miserable existence, people that you loved and trusted have let you down, friendless, beat up and unloved, you find yourself all alone and hopeless.
That is the kind of people that Jesus had around him during his stay on earth, His people were beat-up and tired, they had been raided and pushed around by foreign governments, they were being used by their own religious leaders, His people were desperate and He was sad for them. (Matthew 9:36, 11:28-29, 15:32, Luke 7:13, 19:41, John 11:35)
Jesus Was A Man Of Sorrows
Imagine coming to live here after being in Heaven for all of eternity past, imagine starting life over as a child, a child that is fully God but also fully man. Suddenly you feel pain, hunger and you require sleep just like everybody else yet, you are also God.
Imagine leaving the perfection of the best place ever to come to a broken world so that you can go head to head with your worst enemy. What would it be like to know that you were here to die for people that don't like you and for friends that would turn their back and run? (John 13:37-38)
Jesus gave up a lot to come and be "God with us" but he didn't show any sorrow about what he lost by leaving Heaven. The main source of his sorrow was for the condition of mankind and the fact that His people rejected the only hope that could ever help.
1 John 5: 4-5 For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.
Jesus Disciples Overcome
Followers of Jesus have the big picture, their immediate circumstances are not the end of the story, the trials and sorrows that they have today isn't how it is always going to be. Jesus told the disciples that you will have these troubles but don't let it get you down because He has overcome the world.
God is still governing this world, don't let the daily battle get you down and cause you too much grief, there aren't any term limits on God's reign. He is in charge of the circumstances around us and He always will be. What we see as chaos isn't a surprise or a source of concern to him.
This is not my home, and I will never feel perfectly at peace and perfectly comfortable here but I must continue to the the good works that He has planned or me to do until the day I die and overcome this world just as Jesus did.
