John 16:33
These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
The passage says, “…that in me ye might have peace.”
There is a condition to the peace that Jesus offers His disciples and to us. Don’t miss this! The Savior speaks these words on the threshold of his betrayal. Jesus was about to face death head on, and the disciples were about to face the trial of their lives. They would scatter under the pressure, of course. The crises unnerved them all. I’d like to say I would have fared better, but I doubt it. In a very short while, the disciples would find out that one of their own, one of the inner circle of the 12, was a betrayer. As if that were not enough, the Man they believed to be the actual Son of God would be brutally murdered, seemingly, because of the betrayal. Can you imagine the crisis of faith battling in their minds? The questions alone, aside from the trauma, would have been mind numbing:
If Jesus really was God’s Son then how could He die?
If His Father had given Him all authority as He claimed, then how could He let this happen? Why?
How can nails and boards kill a God man?
What does this mean for us?
Are we next?
Make no mistake, this was a crisis.
Jesus was trying His best to prepare them for it. If memory serves me, he had told the disciples on 3 separate occasions that He would, in fact, die.(Matthew 16:21, Matthew 17:22 & Luke 13:33) Apparently, they had either forgotten this tidbit of crucial information, or they just couldn’t gather themselves to think clearly after the trauma of their Rabbi’s demise.
Notice where Jesus points his friends, though. He tells them exactly where peace would be waiting. No parables this time. Jesus didn’t compare peace with seeds or sowing or anything like that. He didn’t say that peace lay just on the other side of their trials, either. But trust me, after Jesus was done with them, these God followers would never forget the lesson of peace. It would drag on for 3 nail-biting days. I can’t imagine which was worse: the doubts or the fears? Or maybe it was the simple loss of control? Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? What a crazy time to live. We just want it to be over with and I’m sure the disciples did, too. We want it to be done so we can say, “Whew! We made it, and now, all is well.” The only problem with this is, another crisis seems to wait just beyond the current one. It could be in your next breath. In fact, tomorrow’s crisis might even be bigger than today’s. And so our peace and our joy are constantly up for grabs, again and again.
This is the true crisis underneath the current crisis: that we would allow something so fickle as “control” to be the substitute for true peace, moreover, to allow the short respite of a day unencumbered to completely determine the outcome of our joy. No wonder we scatter when a crisis comes. God helps us.
Is this what Jesus wanted? Are peace and joy meant to pine for the short grasps of a day without troubles? Do days like that really exist? Honestly, if I’m not in the thick of some hell, then someone I love is hurting and wading through theirs. When we boil it all down, is this really “peace” a day without trouble?
No….
Jesus is trying to warn His disciples about this very thing. Trials…are…coming. But, there is a peace that transcends the troubles a day may bring, and a joy that is coming that no man can take away. (Verse 22)
Listen to the words of Jesus and remember, this is a Man who knew He was about to be betrayed and crucified.
John 16:33
These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
So, where do we find peace? In the peace giver!
Where do we find tribulation? In the world.
What does Jesus say about the world?
“…I have overcome the world.”
Yeah, that’s right! Jesus claims victory like He owns it; even though He had not yet died for our sins or risen from the grave. Don’t miss that! He’s saying “I got this” before the “this” even happened! This is one of the greatest lessons of peace and joy I’ve found in scripture to date. The audacity of Christ’s claims would not fall on deaf ears either. Slow? Maybe. But these men that scattered, at first, would hear and believe and, indeed, be world changers. They just had to figure out how to be peace overcomers first! Jesus is the crisis killer! Peace and joy are His song! Like the disciples, we must learn this.
So look, I would never minimize someone’s pain—my own or anyone else’s. That isn’t the reason that God has me journaling on the ink Forge today. Christ Himself said, in this world, we would have tribulation. Nobody gets a free pass…nobody. Crisis was here for all of us long before the global crises.
So maybe this is for someone who is sick to death of letting a day determine their peace and their joy. I heard an old preacher describe this kind of crisis and the type of person who allows it to happen. He says, this is a person who constantly allows their spiritual strength to be only as strong as someone else’s ability to treat them badly. The old preacher is right– scary right. That is giving the enemy the keys to your joy. Why should we expect joy at the mercy of our enemies? Break that fragile habit today and walk in the bold peace and joy of the overcoming Christ!
One of the best things that my wife, April has ever spoken over our little family is that we are “joy warriors!” I love that. It is a beautiful challenge. Are there any joy-warriors out there reading this?
Admittedly, this is my first global crisis, but it is not God’s first. He has seen His church through them all. There’s something to be said for that. I want to be a peace overcomer, even here. I want joy, especially here. But to do that, I have to follow the Overcomer’s example: How do we do that?
Abide “in Christ” just like John 16:33 says. How do we do that? Walk in awareness of Him. Practice this today and everyday after. Talk to Him when He comes to mind. You’ll be surprised how often and where He shows up! Daily read His word and think on it.Tell Him what you think about it, and listen. He speaks in many ways but His word holds the secrets of life and so much of it is speaking to you. Understand what He is offering you in this very moment. Don’t miss it! The peace of the overcomer is meant for now! Not after the crises. Now!
Take ahold of peace right “now,” right in the middle of this global and personal craziness and we, my friends, before we know it, will be singing the joy-song of the crisis killer.
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