Overcoming The World

 

Overcoming The World

 

Steve W. Reeves

 

“In the world you will have trouble.” These words spoken by Jesus in John 16:33 remind us of the pain, anguish, suffering and grief that are common to humanity. Jesus did not try to mask this reality. He did not tell His disciples to “wear a smile,” or rely on the “power of positive thinking.” He resisted the temptation to pass along the latest quotable quip or tell them “tomorrow is another day.” Instead, He reminded them of the importance of their relationship with Him. “Take heart. I have overcome the world.”

 

Too often we see vivid images of the evil that ushers trouble into the world. Such was the case this past week with the sight of high school students filing out of their classrooms while the lifeless bodies of classmates and teachers lay nearby. Fresh on our minds are the shootings of concert goers in Las Vegas and worshippers in Tennessee and Texas. Violence knows no geographic or ethnic boundaries. It affects those who are good and those who are bad. It touches the young and the old. “In the world you will have trouble.”

 

Whenever a tragedy like the one in Parkland, Florida, occurs, the politicians and pundits rush to offer solutions advanced by political agendas. Lost in the rhetoric is the need to address the underlying reasons for the madness. “In the world you will have trouble.” This is the nature of a fallen world. Paul reminds us, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” The struggle of which Paul wrote has been evident in the world every day since the fall of humanity (Genesis 3).

 

The further we drift from the Lord Jesus Christ, the closer we come to the trouble in the world. Ultimately the only solution is to surrender and trust the One who has, “overcome the world.”