Tag: courage

When We Lose Sense of the Promises of God through Jesus Christ

John 16:31
Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe?

The apostles spent three years with Jesus. Yet when He was ready to leave them, He had to take a lengthy amount of time explaining to them who He was. When He completed His explanation, He posed a question to them, “Do you now believe?”

Are we not just like the apostles? Even though we have spent years in prayer, years in the reading of the Word, years in worship and years in serving God, we manage to lose our sense of who Almighty God really is and the certainty of all the promises that He has given us through His Son, Jesus Christ. Sadly, as if Jesus Christ left the earth and left us to our own wiles, we turn toward the world for answers. We somehow find ourselves overlooking that our all-sufficient Lord provided us with a Wonderful Counselor who stands ready to supply our every need.

Let us be reminded that Jesus promised that His Holy Spirit would be with us and would comfort and guide us. To believe otherwise is to have a complete lack of faith. To believe otherwise is to deny what Jesus said He came to earth to do. “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.”

Let us take courage as Jesus commands us. Let us believe fully in the promises of Jesus Christ.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the comfort and guidance that You provide through Your Holy Spirit. We bless the name of Jesus who came to earth so that we may have peace and we may overcome the tribulations of the world. We pray, Father, that Your Holy Spirit will help us to dig deep into our relationship with You. May we dig so deep that we never again turn to the world for counsel without having gone to You first. Help us, Lord, to believe for more than we can imagine is possible through our own efforts. Teach us how to wait on You for Your good and perfect timing in all things. We ask these things in the name of the One that is with us until the end of the age, Jesus Christ.

Having Faith in the Victory That is Ours

John 16:33
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.

Jesus spoke directly to the apostles before He left the earth. He wanted the apostles to know that even though He would be leaving them in the flesh that He would still be with them in spirit. He wanted them to understand that He would be with them always as He is with the Father always. He wanted them go forward in peace, without fear, having faith that the victory was theirs through Him. He wanted them to be empowered by knowing that He had already overcome all the tribulation that the world and Satan himself had to offer. Through His indwelling with them, they would have the power that they needed to endure all things.

And so it is with us. When we accept Jesus as Our Savior, His Spirit indwells with us. We become one with Him as He is one with the Father. We receive all that the apostles were told that they would receive.

Unfortunately, one facet of the things to come for us is the fact that we will face tribulation. We will encounter the fierce opposition of the evil one and of those who represent him. And we will certainly face the persistent opposition of our own flesh. But Jesus wants us to be of good courage and hope for He promises to provide all that we need to overcome anything that is thrown at us. When we surrender to Jesus, we have all that we need to overcome the temptations of Satan, the infirmities of our own flesh and the carnal offerings of the world.

Let us allow our faith to override our fears as we are swamped by trying circumstances. Let us face every trial in life with the peace, the comfort and the confident hope that Jesus has promised us.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we humbly come before You in thanksgiving for the power that You have granted us through Your Son, Jesus. We pray that You teach us how to develop and enjoy our relationship with Jesus. May we find our strength in Jesus, just as Jesus found His strength in You when He was in the flesh. May our victories over our tribulations bring honor and glory to You, to Your Son and to the Holy Spirit. We pray that our victories become living testimonies that will draw others to Jesus. We ask all these things in the name of the Upholder of All Things, Jesus Christ.