Originally posted on 3/31/2017, the following piece of writing was something that I really needed to re-read this morning. It brought comfort to this heart of mine that has been aching for some resolution in this world of ours. My hope today is that it does the same for you as you read it. 

Dear Lord, may this writing from the archives of my soul serve as a balm within this mad, mad, mad world in which we live today. Amen. 

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To Overcome the World

"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 (NIV)

Life happens. Stuff goes wrong. Wars ensue. People hurt each other. The world spins out of control…or so it may seem. There is nothing I can do about the troubles that enter my life on a regular basis. Trouble will come. My heart will ache from time to time and my dreams may be shattered by something completely out of my control. I may find out cancer has returned to my body or I might receive the news that a loved-one has died. My job might be cut for lack of funding and my house might foreclose. The neighbors may very well play loud music until three o’clock in the morning on the night before I’m due at an important breakfast meeting. My car will probably breakdown.

During my teens and early twenties, one of my favorite sayings was, “Life sucks and then you die.” Oh, how I wish I had known better than to rely on an idea that was so incredibly negative. Today, I know that it is true that, yes, sometimes life does suck. However, I don’t have to be miserable and disturbed during those times. All I have to do is look to Jesus. I remember the love He showed me by dying to save my soul. I think of what’s going on around me and realize it is nothing compared to what He went through for me. Jesus was shunned, spit on, mocked, beaten, tortured, questioned, judged unfairly, and murdered. The friends who were so close to Him and pledged their love for Him turned and ran away when He was in trouble.  He asked His Father to spare Him and the answer was no. He faced horrors that I cannot even imagine bearing, and yet He overcame. He figuratively and literally rose above it all.

When I need to find harmony within the struggles, disappointments, and hardships of my life, I look to Jesus. I settle in to the confines of His heart in mine and feed off His strength, comfort and peace. There is no place more inviting and welcoming. Through Him, I too can “overcome the world.”