“…in this world you will have trouble…” 
John 16:33 

Jesus gave us a heads up. He warned us. He told us it would come. And yet…we wail and moan and ask, “Why???? WWWWHHHHHYYYYY?” when trouble comes.  

Individually and collectively, we are all impacted in some way and to some degree by this season of worldwide pandemic. While many of us may be little more than inconvenienced by the disruption of our daily routine, others among us are truly suffering.  

Collectively, we have lost jobs. Many people have lost health. We’ve lost face-to-face connections, forfeited travel plans. We’ve witnessed the stock market plummeting (and perhaps our bathroom scale creeping up). Our government leaders struggling with the daily challenges of keeping our nation safe, fed, and informed. Some say their efforts are not enough, while others remind us that if you counted one number per second, it would take almost 32 years to count to a trillion.  

Yes, we have trouble. Big trouble.  

But we also serve a big God. And none of this caught Him off guard or took Him by surprise.  

As Jesus warned us of trouble to come, He simultaneously reminded us to take heart. John 16:33 in its entirety reads: 

 “I have told you these things so that 
in me you may have peace. 
In this world you will have trouble. 
But take heart! I have overcome the world.” 
John 16:33

This verse makes it clear: the opposite of trouble is peace.  

Hard times are often anything but peaceful. Yet the promise He makes is also clear: we can find peace in Him even in the midst of trouble.  

If this global pandemic were a hurricane, our identity in Christ keeps us experiencing the peace and calm found in the eye of the storm. We can take heart. We can rest in Him. We can have peace. We can take heart.  

While a bumper sticker might not be a suitable source for theology, I saw these words on a car in front of me years ago and they still ring true: 

Know Jesus, know peace.  
No Jesus, no peace.  

As followers of Christ, we know this is true. We believe it is true. We want to cling to this truth as bills come in and money dwindles, as loneliness overwhelms, as people we love are sick. We readily identify with the man who declared, “I do believe! Help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24).  

Perhaps there is no better place to abide in the storm than in the Word of God. Nothing bolsters our faith and brings peace to our hearts like biblical truth.  

Rather than binging on the news (or chocolate chip cookies), this month I invite you to try binging on the Word. As we commit to read and write the Word of God during these times of trouble, I pray each of these verses reminds you to TAKE HEART because HE HAS OVERCOME THE WORLD! 

We may not know when or how this will all end, but we know the One who does!  

Download your own copies of the
Write The Word: Times of Trouble
bookmarks & S.O.A.P. study pages:

Write The Word: Times of Trouble - Standard Bookmark

Write The Word: Times of Trouble - Large Print Bookmark

Write The Word: Times of Trouble – S.O.A.P. Bible Study Pages

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