War, death, destruction, personal pain, heart ache — trouble of every kind is all around us. Grim way to start a blog but it is true isn’t it? There is no escaping the fact that life is full of trouble, and to quote the Music Man… “Trouble, oh we got trouble, Right here in River City! With a capital “T”. Clearly not just in River city ;)

It can be easy to be overwhelmed, to lose hope and to want to turn away and that is when my mind turns to the words of Jesus in John 16:33, where Jesus offers words of hope:

Jesus tells his disciples “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.”

Jesus reminds us that he knows that there will always be trouble in the world in which we live, and he gives it to us straight. “You will have trouble.”

Not only that, Jesus is telling his disciples that he was about to face his own greatest trouble - death on the cross. That’s why he told them in the previous verse: “Yet, I am not alone, for my Father is with me.”

In the the same way Jesus is telling us that it is only through Him that we can find peace in the midst of our trouble. And when he says, “take heart”, Jesus is cheering us on. He’s telling us to keep going, to live a life that shows everyone around us the source of our hope!

Remember that book that became a movie, Eat, Pray, Love? Well I think there could be a sequel: Eat, Pray, Love, Give, Pray, Serve! We may need to work on the title but I hope you get the sentiment ;) In the midst of our trouble — we don’t stop, or give up — we continue to do these things to demonstrate the love of Jesus in our community and beyond.

Jesus is saying Don’t Give Up… Why? Because he has overcome the world.

Jesus has already won and we will see this fully in the end!

So what do we need to do? Take heart and make Jesus’ promise to you real to a troubled world.