“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.” —John 16:33
Studies have found that 85 percent of the things we worry about never happen. This means that of all the things you’re worrying about right now, 85 percent of it won’t happen. But what about the other 15 percent? Well, the Lord will be with you in your time of difficulty.
God has not promised that we’ll live in a pain-free world. Jesus said, “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). We need to face facts. Loved ones are going to die, marriages might struggle, days might be hard, and hardship will come into our lives.
But here is the good news: we live in the land of pain and struggle, but we are headed to the land of the living. Yes, death will come, but we have this promise from Jesus: “Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last. I am the living one. I died, but look—I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave” (Revelation 1:17–18). I’m so glad that He holds the keys. If I had the keys, they would’ve been lost for years now.
Someone asked me not long ago what the most spiritual moment of my life was. In other words, when was the time in my life when I felt God’s presence more than any other? I had to think about it. And then I realized the most spiritual moment of my life, the moment when I felt the presence of God more than any other was when I spent time in rehab for addiction to alcohol. It was one of most trying times of my life, but looking back I am amazed at God’s grace. I was afraid, I was beat down, and I was unsure of what to do next. However God was there and that made all the difference!
We can rejoice in the fact that God is in control. He will be with us, giving us what we need, when we need it.
My prayer for each of you today is that you will turn to the God who knows what you are going through, the God that loves you, and the God that will carry you through!
Blessings,
Chaplin Rob