NO TRIBULATION PLEASE, WE’RE CHRISTIANS !
Life can be troublesome. It can be tiring, frustrating, disappointing and painful. It is probably true for all of us that our first introduction to life was a slap on the backside. As we entered this world after a pretty difficult journey from Moms womb some rather enthusiastic woman took us in her hands and belted our bum. What a great beginning. For not a few of us it was the sign of things to come.
How many of us really did expect when we became Christians that all our troubles would disappear ? The truth is …. They don’t ! Our motto very quickly becomes ….. “NO TRIBULATION PLEASE WE’RE CHRISTIANS !”
This world is not a trouble free zone. I had a brief conversation with someone this week that started me thinking about this theme and in particular those Christians who are often left confused and in a daze when their lives don’t seem to work out like other peoples.
There are many good Christian people who find things happening in their lives that they have never chosen. Crisis in relationships, sickness, bereavement, financial difficulties, unemployment or other anxious and heartbreaking circumstances. None of them sought these things they just seemed to happen. One day everything was fine, the next chaos reigned. All of these people would rather be free from these troubles but are left feeling regret, guilt and frustration.
So how can this be ? Many heard and responded to preaching that seemed to suggest that when they gave their lives to Jesus they would never again have a sad day. For some they can still live life pretty well, they have accepted many of the accompanying circumstances and have in fact grown in their faith but the memories never go away and their present situations won’t allow them to forget those awful days, months or years.
I do believe that the Bible can help us. In fact it can help us cut through some of the rubbish those other well meaning Christians, who have never had a crisis in their life, feed us.
Jesus, some have said, was a realist. I’m not so sure that is the best description of him. But he was and is the most honest man who ever walked the earth. And his teaching, given to us to HELP US not hinder us, is where we will find our way through this maze of human experience.
Read: John 16:17-33
The verse in this passage that always stands out to me in verse 33 …. “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart ! For I have overcome the world”
To truly understand this last verse which we will look at in a moment we need to examine some of the things that precede it.
The scene is the upper room, the time just a matter of hours before Jesus’ impending arrest in Gethsemane. These are some of the last moment Jesus has with his disciples before his death and probably the last opportunity to say many of the things he really wanted to say. He clearly seeks to prepare them for a rough ride.
Read: 16:20-22
In the immediate they may well grieve his death but long term they will experience grief many more times. This is also prophetic to us of the way things are as we await his return for us. He illustrates the point with the picture of a lady in childbirth whose pain is forgotten when her baby arrives. Any mom will tell you though that the pain is severe enough while you wait and that the wait is much longer than desired. The thought does cross most mothers mind “Is this worth it ?”.
The hardest thing for the disciples to hear we read in verse 32 (read). Jesus tells them that this secure, intimate, holy huddle will be scattered and they will then have to road test their true discipleship where they live. Religious communes were never high on Jesus’ agenda for his church.
So we come to verse 33 …. Believe it or not this is a PROMISE. Not as exciting as some of the other promises of scripture but nevertheless as important.
HE PROMISED PEACE …
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace”
Jesus never hides the truth from his followers. He is truth personified (John 14:6) He never painted a picture of discipleship that was only attractive without also displaying the cost. He says that his honesty has one aim … “that in ME you may have peace”
He tells it as it is. Peace is only possible IN HIM. i.e. as we live in meaningful and consistent relationship with God (John 14:25-27). Peace is necessary because of strife. A promise of peace is a promise of strife.
All this adds up to tell us that peace is not the absence of trouble but the presence of Christ in trouble. You can never truly experience peace until you have experienced chaos, trouble or strife. Jesus wants us to know what it’s really like for someone who wants to follow him.
HE PROMISED TROUBLE …
“ In this world you will have trouble”
Jesus never used words carelessly. What he said was always considered. He never had to retract a statement because it had been ill conceived. He never had to apologise for words he had not meant to say. Jesus understood the power of what he said.
John 1:1 is incredibly important. Jesus IS the Word of God. Every word he spoke he knew has to be true so that men and women can build their lives upon it.
John 6:63 “The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life”
None of us have any reason to doubt or question the words of Jesus. What he said he had reason to say. NOW…. That is great except it doesn’t help us when we consider this statement …… “In this world you will have trouble”
We all wish for a trouble free life. Remember: No tribulation please we’re Christians !
Those well meaning evangelists of a trouble free life need remember one thing. Jesus said it would be like this. But I would concede that these words of Jesus are not an excuse for dwelling in our troubles, moping in our adversity or using such things for our gain. Jesus did have a plan as we shall see later.
Salvation is not accompanied by a trouble exemption certificate. There are two kinds of trouble we experience as followers of Jesus …..
Trouble that is NOT unique ……. i.e. What everyone else experiences because we are broken people living in a broken world. We are not exempt and yet we are at the same time protected ….. Psalm 91:9-16. Even amid this the NT tells us to expect trouble, which can mean only one thing – God allows some less than positive experiences for reasons we may not understand ….. James 1:2-4.
We may well go through similar things to our unbelieving family, friends and neighbours but the question is not WHY do we experience such things, but HOW do we experience such things i.e. How we behave, react or talk amid them and how such reactions either glorify God or deny his power in our lives.
Trouble that IS unique …… i.e. things we experience because we love Jesus and wish to follow him. They could be called persecution but are things that we have to live with and overcome because as children of God we ARE a different people. They are things we are encourage to rejoice in because we are suffering for the name of Jesus and because we carry his banner in this world.
They can be things prompted by our enemy, our humanity or by our society. It is such troubles that will be for us a sign of the impending return of Jesus.
It may be that your life at the moment feels chaotic. You may be feeling under intense pressure or feeling guilt, regret or disappointment because of situations around you. Let me encourage you. It is not necessarily because you are a bad Christian or have done something wrong. In fact it may be quite the opposite. A great Christian doing it all right. After all that was certainly true of Jesus and look at what he had to put up with.
So, if we accept that this is to be expected, is that it ? Do we just sit back, endure the pain and wait to be sainted as a modern day martyr ? NO ….. because Jesus has another plan !
HE PROMISED TRIUMPH
“But take heart ! I have overcome the world”
One of the great truths of the NT is the Christian triumphing in adversity. These words of Jesus aim to remind us of one very important truth …… We are not able to triumph, HE IS able to triumph.
We have to realise when we are powerless, quit struggling to find our answer and turn to God. Life is continually troublesome and stressful as long as we try to make it work ourselves. That’s why we need a SAVIOUR. Jesus tells us here that the victory he was about to achieve was not for Him, it was, and is, for us. He did not need to come to earth for his own benefit. Everything he did here is for US. So the cross was a victory achieved for human kind.
The greatest defeat we could ever experience is when we allow the difficulties we are having to take our attention off God. Yet the greatest victory we can experience is when we refuse to allow whatever is happening in and around us to remove our gaze and focus from walking with God.
Two truths to remember when in need of victory ……
It’s not always our fault …… There are times when we are powerless to change a situation. We can very often be victims of circumstances that we couldn’t change whatever we did. It doesn’t help if we live continually in self blame. This though is not an excuse for avoiding doing something that will help. Maybe there is something I know I can do to change what is happening. For many people though this isn’t the case.
It is always our faith …… 1 John 5:4 And this is the victory that has overcome the world; our faith. How confident are you today that God wants to lead you through your difficult and troublesome experiences ?
The tragedy is that so many of us live in the negativity of our circumstances forgetting that God wants us free.
Free from the past, free from the pain, free from the problem.
Here’s where I now quote those scriptures that earlier I said some find difficult to hear….. Read: Romans 8:35-39
This is not specialist motivational hype it is eternal spiritual truth ! Jesus did honestly tell us to expect a rough ride at times, yet we are also clearly told to expect God to lead us through triumphantly.
2 Corinthians 2:14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.
The key to triumph is to ensure that our attention is not distracted from God whatever is happening. That is the very desire of the devil. If our only way through is God remember these three things …..
Don’t lose sight of Him
Don’t lose contact with Him
Don’t lose faith in Him
One final thought:
What Jesus did immediately after sharing the words we have looked at tells us so much about God’s heart for those who find life a troublesome experience …… John 17:1 After Jesus said this, he looked towards heaven and prayed …..
When we examine his prayer we find the majority of it was for us. For our protection, joy, holiness. Jesus more than anyone else knows the challenge of our faith facing tribulation. So he prays for you …..
Romans 8:26,27,34 ….. Hebrews 7:25 ….. He’s praying for you !
"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."
