John 16:33–These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
Christ promised His disciples that if they stuck with Him, they would have peace no matter the circumstances. They would have joy. World has trials which was already overcome!
We are in the world and will experience tribulation, trials, or suffering: pain and sickness, loss and death; monotony of hard, continuous toil, hopes destroyed or disappointment in fruition, and ‘ills that flesh is heir to’ afflict us all. But, we Believers will have never-failing peace, which no tribulation can affect. Peace is our birthright, as is joy, which none can snatch. We can stand on Christ’s Promise of Peace that co-exists with tribulation, a peace in conflict, wildest winds, and sternest foes. We take courage because Jesus is the Captain of our Salvation. We live in rest with the knowledge of our victory in Christ.
“Ye Might have peace” is a possibility to have peace with twin conditions: to dwell in Him secure and still, amid all confusion; and to listen to and believe His Promise. To dwell in Christ is our entitlement and duty. We are in Him as in an atmosphere. We dwell in Him with our faith that rests our all on Him, with our love that finds all in Him, and with our obedience that does all for Him. Only ‘in Christ’, can we rest and realize true peace. All else brings distraction, even trouble. The world gives excitement, vulgar, and fleeting joys. Amid pressing duties, lurking anxieties, seducing temptations, and conflict that the world brings, we must keep our lives surrounded by Jesus our Peace; which makes an impenetrable shield between us and ‘the fiery darts of the wicked’. Christ spoke the words to bring us peace: of His ascension to Heaven to prepare a place for us; of His coming again to receive us to Himself; of His presence with us in His absence; of His indwelling in us and ours in Him; of His gift to us of a divine Spirit. If we believe, comprehend, and live in this faith; if we meditate on them daily, how can ‘anything’ disturb us or our confidence? We find peace only at the feet of Jesus, wrapped in His love and listening to His Word.
We in Christ will sooner or later find ourselves in hostile collision with lives that only belong to the world. The world regards us as folly, the world does not care to possess what we aim at-such as God’s presence, the world abandons all that we seek-such as righteousness, the world does not consult what we desire to obey-such as God’s Word. Opposition and tribulation come in all Christian lives. We are also likely to have sneers flung at us. ‘And if it is His initials that I carry I may be proud of the marks.’
Jesus’ life was a true battle. The world tried to draw Him away from God with temptation that He faced and conquered. The Power that kept Jesus Christ continually faithful to His Father, continually sure of His Father’s Presence, continually averse to all self-will and selfish living, was a Power mightier than any other in History. Jesus’ life is an all-victorious life. The world conquers us when it draws us away from God, when it makes us its slave, coaxes us to trust it, or urges us to despair if we lose it. The world also conquers us when it fills our desires, absorbs our energies, or blinds our eyes to the unseen and eternal. We conquer the world when we crush temptations with our foot, when we shake off its bonds. The condition of victory is our simple act of reliance upon God and His Word. For ‘this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith’. Make the world a stepping-stone to God.
