Peace in Tribulation

John 16:33 tells us that we will have tribulation in this world. In the chapter before and the chapter after, Jesus reminds us that we will be hated by the world. He says this in both chapters. It isn’t “you might be” or “you could be”. It is clear: To follow Jesus is to be hated by the world. Jesus puts it like this in John 17:14–

𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥; 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥.

Can I be honest for a moment? This is why I am suspect about what is going on in our country today. It goes completely against what Jesus told us to expect from the world. It doesn’t say the world will embrace Jesus. It says that the world will hate Him…and His followers.

So if that is true (and this message is throughout the New Testament) then thoughtful Bible students must ask: Are these people actually following the true Jesus?

With just a bit of digging, it becomes clear that they are not. It may be that they are deceived. Some are most likely purposely deceiving for personal gain. But, if the Bible is our litmus test, then what is passing for Christianity today just…isn’t.

But this little verse in John 16 is such a comfort, given that our tribulation will not just be the normal stuff of life but will also include hatred from the world (which includes those who proclaim a Jesus that is not from scripture). Hatred, rejection, isolation, gossip…these are painful things to endure.

But Jesus reminds us: Yes, we will have tribulation in the world. We are not going to be spared tribulation. But we will have peace if we stay focused on Him.

Have you ever been in your home, by the fireplace or wrapped in a blanket, totally comfortable and at peace, while a bad storm raged outside?

The wind blew, the rain poured down, the thunder cracked, but you were safe inside your cozy home.

The peace of God is our safe place in our heart and mind. The storms will rage. The hurricanes will come and the unsettling winds will blow. Trials will threaten to undo us. But God’s peace settles into our hearts and gives us a safe place to weather the storm.

Let me just quickly add here: We will have no safe place to retreat to in our hearts if we do not surrender our will to God’s will in any given situation, be it small or large. (I know this from my own personal experience. With acceptance comes peace.)

Life is full of tribulation. Jesus told us to expect this. And that tribulation will sometimes come from directions we least expected. Sometimes it will come from people we trusted.

But Jesus reminds us: Yes, we will have tribulation but we are not like the world, hanging on to false hopes and fairy tale pretend gods.

Jesus is real. Jesus is God. And Jesus has promised, if we will but look to Him, to be the source for peace through it all.