11.19.22

Jesus says in 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.”

Do you ever feel like life is just one big storm, beating you down over and over again. You overcome one obstacle and have some peace only to be confronted with another obstacle a few days, weeks, or months later. Does life leave you exasperated, breathless, exhausted?

The past few years of my life have felt overwhelming. Unexpected sicknesses with family, dealing with difficult legal matters and the court system, conflict between people I love.

It isn’t just the big things like injustice and persecution though. I struggle to keep up with the regular routine chores that we all have to do: working, cleaning, caring for pets, being a good friend, planning for the future, being a good son or daughter. 

I also look around and see my friends struggling. Injustice is plentiful. The innocent are constantly being persecuted and hurt. The guilty continue to rise to the top of the success hierarchy. So much seems unjust and unfair. And sometimes it leaves me breathless.

Does life ever feel like an endless cycle of responsibilities and struggle? Do you ever feel like you are just constantly searching for peace, waiting for everything to calm down? 

And if life does settle down, it all starts back over again after a while. 

I was pondering my struggle with this when I read this social media prayer from a Christian organization:

The beginning of the message said, “A prayer for the girl feeling empty and exhausted at the end of her days.” I thought, yes, I need to read that prayer!

Here is the prayer:

“God, I’m so exhausted from all of the responsibilities, tasks, and obligations I have to keep up with everyday. It’s a constant juggling act and I’m so very tired from trying to keep up with it all on my own. I confess that in the midst of my busy schedule, I often forget to invite you in. I try to do it all on my own and fail to ask you for help. Before I take on a new day tomorrow, would you give me peace and rest in your presence tonight? Fill me up and give me the strength and wisdom to know when to stop and ask for your help. I need you tonight, tomorrow, and every day after that. Lord, Amen.”

God used this prayer to remind me that I am not alone in my daily struggle to deal with the pressures of life.

The first two verses of Psalm 91 speak to this:

Psalm 91

1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. 

2 I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

Throughout scripture, storms, both literal and figurative rage around the people of God. In the beginning of the Bible, Adam and Eve are tempted by the serpent. I am sure that in the middle of the consequences of their sin, they thought, “If only temptation had never come! If only we could still be sitting in the presence of God we could have perfect peace.” I am sure they yearned for the peace they previously had–for the rest of their lives.

Noah, one man who trusted God out of the whole world, was probably not excited to spend his years building an ark for a storm that no one else believed would ever come and that he had no real evidence could come. He was criticized and he toiled with his hands for years – and even when the storm came and he and his family were saved from the worldwide flood, he had to start over, just like Adam, rebuilding society. He got very little rest from life’s challenges in his lifetime.

The Israelits spent hundreds of years in slavery and were expected to pursue relationship with God through it all. Even when they were finally rescued from Egypt by God through Moses, they weren’t immediately given rest. They walked through the desert for decades and faced lessons and consequences for repeated sins. Their life was hard. They got very little rest from daily difficulty in their lifetime.

Esther, the Jewish girl God used to rescue the Jewish people from complete destruction was kidnapped from her home, imprisoned by a wicked king, made one of many women to be used for his selfish pleasure as a concubine. She must have been terrified. God allowed her to be there for a specific purpose – the king’s heart was influenced to accept her as his wife, so she became queen. As queen she had influence over the King’s mind and choices, and the entire Jewish people were saved from being murdered. However, while we love to read about Queen Esther, she had to lose her ordinary life, her innocence, and her dignity. She did not live a life of peace and rest, but she maintained her faith. Her life had purpose–but she did not have rest from conflict and stress.

Paul–once he accepted Jesus and began living his life to glorify God was beaten, put in prison, beaten again, put in prison again, shipwrecked on an island, beaten again, put in prison again – and yet, He continued to pursue Jesus and had joy in his heart. Through his consistent reliance on the Holy Spirit to meet his needs (physical and spiritual) he wrote the words in the Bible that feed our souls and lead us to the truth that gives us eternal life to this very day.

Jesus, who was at rest with God the Father, left His place of perfect peace, where conflict does not rule and money is not needed to buy food and shelter to come to this difficult earth. He toiled. He built things. He was a carpenter. He lived an ordinary life for a long time, and through it he sought His peace from God the Father. Jesus, an innocent man, our perfect God who came into the world in the flesh– came to rescue us from eternal destruction. He showed us how to live and how to find true peace – by placing our trust in the one true God through Jesus. And in it all, He was beaten. Abandoned. Imprisoned. Beaten. Spat on. Betrayed. And killed on a cross. Jesus, who did not deserve any punishment, was punished and through it all, He remained steady and focused on His eternal purpose – which was to die, be raised from the grave three days later, and then ascend to Heaven to show us what would happen to us if we follow Him– we will be raised from the grave and ascend to heaven one day if we put our trust in Jesus.

So what does all of this show us? The men and women of the Bible did not live lives that were easy. They had to work daily to eat, have shelter, and help their neighbors – just like us. They faced difficulty and hardship. They had people fighting all around them, sometimes physically fighting and attacking them. 

I yearn for peace. I yearn for rest. But so did they. God does not promise us a life of ease. He never said that we will have long stretches of time where there is no conflict. What He does is promise to be our peace through the difficulty.

Jesus left his disciples with these words in John 16:31. Jesus asked, “Do you finally believe? 32 But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when you will be scattered, each one going his own way, leaving me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me. 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.”

Jesus says we will have troubles and sorrows in this world. This should be expected. But He already overcame the world and when we live in Him, we will overcome it as well in the end. What He promises us is peace knowing that we are eternally secure in Jesus.

When the troubles come, let’s fix our minds on Jesus.

In Philippians 4:8-9 Paul urges us: Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me or seen in me — put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Let’s close with the words of Jesus from John 14:27: “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.