Take Heart!

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “The Great Adventure”

Our Bible verse for today: “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)

Our thought for today: “Take heart!”

Jesus told us it was going to be like this. He told us there would be suffering and heartache; challenges and trials; sickness and death; unemployment and flat tires; misbehaving kids and overdue bills. Life is often good, but life is often hard too. “In this world you will have trouble…” Gosh, ya think?

And that’s just normal life for the average Joe and Sally. That’s without considering the special challenges and expectations that come with being Christian. We are expected to deal with all the normal stuff, just like anyone else, but we’re also expected to handle it in a way that honors the Lord and blesses others. We are called to live a holy life in a hostile world – a world that is broken and bleeding on its best day, and a world that often isn’t kind to Christians.

The Christian life isn’t for sissies. It’s not for the faint of heart. But no problem, Jesus didn’t call us to be sissies He called us to be victors – and then He empowers us to live victoriously. That’s why He told us in John 16:33 that we should take heart from the fact that He overcame the world. You see, by means of His Holy Spirit living in your heart and working in your life, He has already given you everything you need to deal with whatever you face. You are to do it in His power not in your own. What you need is already there within you because the Holy Spirit is already there within you. That’s also why Jesus told us in that verse that in Him we will find peace, and that peace can be yours despite whatever your current troubles are.

This is indeed a hostile world. Not just in terms of the opposition or persecution we may face because of our faith, but because it is a broken, sinful world filled with things like crime and disease and pollution, wars and injustice and corruption.

But by no means should we view it as all doom and gloom. This is not intended to be a depressing devotional but an encouraging one. You have a Savior who has overcome the trials and tribulations of this world and His Spirit lives within you – meaning that since He overcame it all, so can you.

There is nothing you will face today that you and Jesus cannot handle together. So, take heart!

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(If you like what you’re reading in these daily devotionals, and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00, in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

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