Week 2- TEACHING
Take Heart
– Amber Ross
John 16:33: “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” (NLT).
Often times, we may find ourselves shocked when we face hardships. We expect to evade sorrows—because we love the Lord, and why would He ever want that for us? In John chapter 16, Jesus tells His disciples they will have many trials and sorrows. But He also tells them to take heart because He has overcome the world. We, too, are to take heart. The King who died and rose again for us has overcome the world.
Can you recall a time in your life when you were going through a trying season filled with trials and sorrow?
Perhaps some of you can even relate with me when I say a greater amount of 2016 was a season of trials and sorrows. I went through a long season of having to let go of everything I was holding onto—which was a lot. And it hurt. My capacity to handle hard situations was being expanded as I was dealing with circumstances I had never gone through before. It seemed that the victory of all the different trials was one reward—harder trial.
In each trial, I experienced hardships I had never known before, and, conversely, I got to experience God’s provision in ways that I had have never known before. This past summer, I moved out of my parents’ house. Prior to summer beginning, I had been looking for a place to live for months. I had just about searched every avenue, until finally I found an apartment. It was not until the day I moved in that everything fell through. I ended up without a place to live. I found myself at a loss and severely discouraged. I opened my Bible and began to read; the Lord urged me not to worry about tomorrow’s troubles. I had to take it one day at a time. Each night was taken care of. I started with staying with friends, and then I was blessed with house-sitting opportunities from members of our church. The summer ended with a two-week trip in Hawaii. This provision was not anything I could have ever dreamed of, because going through it I lost sight of the entire forest and was focusing on a few trees.
Through those trials, I learned that it is important to keep an eternal perspective. It is important to trust Jesus and not waste our time worrying. Honestly, I have even found it easier in my life to be in a state of worry, because no one is disagreeing with me. They think I should be worried. But that is not what Jesus called us to. It is harder to swim against the current of worry, but it is the current we are called to swim.
We are to take heart through the trials and sorrows because Jesus has overcome the world.
As we face the trials that are bound to come, we may even realize that some last longer than others. Nevertheless, we are each deeply and dearly loved by God. May our response to trials and sorrows be an affirmation of our belief in this statement.