Jesus’ Secret of Overcoming Hardship
Pastor Brad Abley: Biblical Educator and Religious Broadcaster
Pastor’s Corner
John 16:33
“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world”
Pastor Brad writes…
In John 16:33 (cf. 17:13), we have about four important matters to learn in just one verse.
First, there is a promise of peace in Jesus through the words He has spoken to us. Therefore, He wants us to see how powerful those words are, coming from the Prince of Peace (Is. 9:6).
But immediately, we should ask how we can enter into His promised peace. And the secret is to make it simple and declare His Word to ourselves, in His presence. For example, we can say,
Thank You, Lord Jesus, for Your promise to me that although there is tribulation in this world, in You I have Your peace – and especially because You have overcome the world.
That is how we apply Scripture. As we do this, faith comes to us (Rom. 10:17) and our minds are renewed as well, enabling us to overcome the sort of tribulation we’re facing that can often crush us.
The Lord wants to enable us to navigate through these things through dependence upon Him, through union with Him. Are you willing to make this your practice, beloved?
Obviously, then, we are meant to live by His words. The second thing He wants us to see is that He is God, because only God can grant peace. Of course, it would be helpful to remind ourselves that He is speaking directly to His disciples – Jewish men – who spoke Hebrew and knew the OT extremely well.
This is particularly so with the prominent word, shalom – seen throughout so much of the OT (cf. Is. 26:3-4; Ps. 119:165). Shalom is the state of fulfillment which is the result of God's presence.
It is well-being; happiness; rest; and prosperity. Jesus is fully aware of the turmoil in the hearts of His disciples, so as their Good Shepherd, He ministers to them exactly what they need -- His truth.
Pastor’s Corner:
“Jesus’ Secret of Overcoming Hardship”
Just as He promises peace to them, the third thing we observe is the truthful assessment that they (and we) will have tribulation. The words translated, "you have," are in the present tense. Followers of Jesus are never exempt from tribulation!
But fourthly, He also promises them that they can overcome tribulation because He has overcome the world – and they are in Him. The Greek word translated “overcome” is the word “conquer.” And “I” is emphatic.
This means that by abiding in Him -- and His word abiding in them -- which He taught them that very night from John 15:1-7, they are able to overcome. It's vital, of course, for us to understand the background of what Jesus is teaching in this Upper Room discourse.
He is about to be crucified. Judas is about to betray him. His disciples are about to get into an intense fight over who is greater, despite the fact that they just witnessed Jesus washing their feet. And then, they will abandon Him completely.
Nevertheless, He can declare that He has overcome the world and that is because He abides by the same word that He Himself -- along with the Father and the Holy Spirit -- inspired.
Hence, Jesus has taught us the secret of navigating through this life of ups and downs. It is incumbent upon us to put ourselves in a position to walk in His peace by carrying His word richly within us, meditating on it, and living it out.
Learn to speak His Word and always begin by saying:
“Lord, Your Word says,” or
“Lord, I’m taking You at Your Word and declaring…”
Pastor’s Corner
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