Advent: Day 11
”“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.”“
John 16:33 NIV
These words of Jesus are his promise to his disciples as he’s about to go to the cross. He knew what he was going to endure and what his followers would face in the future. He knew that the world is full of hardship, challenges, temptations, and evil. And in that, he gives us peace. He doesn’t give us a way out immediately, but instead, he gives us his peace and presence. That is the true comfort, not just because he loves us, but also, because he has overcome the world.
It’s sometimes hard to feel that Jesus has overcome the world when we see the suffering, pain, evil, and war. I talk about every year my favourite Christmas song “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” because I believe it handles this theme really well. It does not gloss over the fact of suffering and pain that we see in the world, in fact the writer of the song expresses his doubts about God’s peace and control in the very song. But towards the end, as he keeps hearing the bells go on and on, with the same reminder of God’s peace being on earth, he’s reminded that God is alive and victorious. There is a day coming when sin, death, and the devil will face their final defeat, and Jesus will be seen as king over all.
Until that day comes, we must wait and trust. We rest in his peace, that he is at work, and that he invites us to bring peace as well. That as he gives it to us, we can spread it to others, and bring his goodness to those around us.
Song of the day: