[RE]FOCUS Day 55
Week 8: Re-establishing
Day 6: The Victorious One
By Pastor Chris Troxel
READ:
John 16:31-33 Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
Struggles do not mean defeat. Fear causes you to do weird things. I am scared to death of bees. We had yellow jackets in a gap next to our garage door. I kept putting off spraying the nest for fear of retaliation. As a disciple following Jesus at His arrest, fear means you run and hide, for fear of retaliation. Though Jesus’ disciples abandon Him, He comforts them even before it happens so that when it does, they are not astonished at their own failure, nor do they need to stew in it. They simply repent and believe. Struggles do not mean defeat, it means that you are not finished growing in faith. It also means God is not finished forming that faith – He’s still at work! Being scattered does not mean you’ve lost or that you are lost. When we react in fear instead of faith, or some odd mixture of both, it does not mean we’re finished. It does mean we struggle in the tension between the two, along with all the other tensions that fill our lives in the world. This is, I think, why Jesus says this next: “Take heart; I have overcome the world.”
Jesus overcomes our fear, anxiety, the tensions that pull and twist us in all kinds of different directions. Jesus gives His disciples a glimpse of what will be and follows it with a promise. He does this so that when we condemn ourselves because of our failures and this world, we don’t need to fear. Jesus has overcome our failures. Jesus has overcome this world. He teaches us to call things what they are, repent from where we lost focus, and receive what He won for us. Jesus overcomes everything so that you may know and believe that nothing will ever separate you from Him. Jesus is the Victorious One because He overcomes everything – for you.
PRAY:
Jesus, because You are for us, nothing can stand against us. Lord, help us to understand that this is not You tagging along, rubber-stamping everything we do, but this is You calling us from death to life, from chains to freedom. As You empower us to refocus our lives, open our eyes to see who else needs to be set free by You. Amen.
LIVE:
When was the last time you lost, and you saw it coming? What comfort does Jesus give you today?