Up ALL night
Due to weather conditions, our office closed early today. I brought some work home to work on and then somewhere around 4pm, I decided to take a “nap”. In between waking up to phone calls and text, I rested for about 3 hours. At about 7pm, I felt fully recharged. Now at almost 1am, I am ready to take on the day! Of course, I may force myself to go to sleep soon but in the meantime my mind is on so many things. In the midst of praying for dear friends who are going through tough times and specifically a good friend whose dad is in the hospital, I’m amazed by the goodness of the Lord. I am believing God with all my heart for a miracle.
With all the cares of this life and dealing with disheartening news, I am in awe and puzzled by Jesus’ statement. “In the world you will have tribulation BUT be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” How can you be of good cheer? How can you be of good cheer in the face of death? How can you have joy when you are still grieving the lost of a loved one? Jesus was right about the first half of this statement, “In the world you will have tribulation”. NO ONE will argue that statement! We hold that truth to be self evident! From financial issues, to family issues to personal issues to work related issues to health issues and the list goes on.
Jesus made this statement in such confidence because He is standing at the finish line. He is speaking from experience. He knows. He overcame and we can too. Can we stop tribulation? Definitely not. It comes in this package called life. Many times it is sandwiched in between good times but the reality is, tribulation is always there. Only with Jesus can we have the ability to experience difficulty and still have peace. I imagine Jesus’ patting us on the back when He says “be of good cheer”. Cheer up! Whatever may be keeping you all night, as hard as it may be, give it to God! He has walked this road before and He knows the outcome. Since we cannot stop tribulation, let’s at least try to hold on to our joy in the midst of it. Sleeping will endure for a night but joy comes in the morning. Goodnight, overcomer!
“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” –John 16:33
With all the cares of this life and dealing with disheartening news, I am in awe and puzzled by Jesus’ statement. “In the world you will have tribulation BUT be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” How can you be of good cheer? How can you be of good cheer in the face of death? How can you have joy when you are still grieving the lost of a loved one? Jesus was right about the first half of this statement, “In the world you will have tribulation”. NO ONE will argue that statement! We hold that truth to be self evident! From financial issues, to family issues to personal issues to work related issues to health issues and the list goes on.
Jesus made this statement in such confidence because He is standing at the finish line. He is speaking from experience. He knows. He overcame and we can too. Can we stop tribulation? Definitely not. It comes in this package called life. Many times it is sandwiched in between good times but the reality is, tribulation is always there. Only with Jesus can we have the ability to experience difficulty and still have peace. I imagine Jesus’ patting us on the back when He says “be of good cheer”. Cheer up! Whatever may be keeping you all night, as hard as it may be, give it to God! He has walked this road before and He knows the outcome. Since we cannot stop tribulation, let’s at least try to hold on to our joy in the midst of it. Sleeping will endure for a night but joy comes in the morning. Goodnight, overcomer!
“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” –John 16:33
Comments
Post a Comment