“I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”     John 16:33 CSB

In this Scripture passage, Jesus is trying to prepare His disciples for His departure. He is trying to explain to them that the time is coming soon when He will no longer be with them. Nowhere in Scripture does Jesus say following Him will be easy.

He tells us in Matthew 16:24 that if anyone wants to follow Him, they must deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Him. He goes on to say in verse 25 that whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of Him will find it.

There is nothing complicated about this equation. Simply put, Jesus gave his life for us. We must, in turn, give our lives to Him. We must deny ourselves. There may be things you want to say or do that you refrain from saying or doing because to do so would not bring honor to Jesus.

Examples of this may be speaking against those who slander you or seeking revenge for those who have hurt you in some other way. We may have to deny ourselves the desire to do these things as we imitate Christ. While hanging on the cross, Jesus prayed for those who were crucifying Him. In Luke 23:34, Jesus said, “Father forgive them because they do not know what they are doing.”

In our Scripture passage, Jesus tells His disciples He is telling them these things so that in Him they may have peace. Our peace is found in Jesus Christ. We will not find peace in the things of this world. If you look for peace in the world, you will be disappointed.

It’s so hard to keep the peace when people come against you. It’s especially difficult when you are attacked by a family member or someone you considered a friend. But we need to remember that we are in the end times. We will continue to see more and more evil and wickedness coming from those who are lost.

In John 10:10 Jesus says, “A thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.” The devil will use his minions to steal your joy. He wants to kill your soul and destroy your witness.

This is why we must live out Peter 5:8 which tells us to be sober and alert for the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion seeking someone to destroy. Wicked people, thieves, lions oh my! It all sounds pretty scary. The news headlines become scarier and more bizarre every day.

We are warned in 2 Timothy 3:1-6 that in the end times, lost people will become even more wicked and self-centered. We are told to not associate with these people.

Isaiah 5:20 says woe to those who call good evil and evil good. More and more we are seeing people perpetrating evil and calling it good. People are demanding that their evil ways be acknowledged and accepted as something good.

In this evil world, we can find our peace in Jesus. We can find protection in Him. We can trust in Him to provide a place of refuge (Psalm 91:1-2).

As we face these trying times, be courageous! Be alert! Trust in Him. He won’t let you down. While we live on this planet, we will always face some kind of trouble. There will be small, insignificant troubles and there will be big, seemingly insurmountable troubles. But know that with Jesus there is nothing we can’t face. There is nothing He can’t conquer.

He will be right there with us. He will fight our battles for us. So, what have we to fear for He has conquered the world?

Have a great day!