Don't fall for the delusion that
because you have surrendered your life to God, that everything
is just going to be grand. Don't think that because God
has saved you from the pits, the depths of hell, it seems
like, that things are just going to be great from here on out.
In fact, that's one of the things that I often hear from people
and I sort of challenge them a little bit. I hear people,
and maybe you've said this, I've said the same thing, we say things
like, I just know if I keep making the right decision, everything's
just going to work out. And I think to myself, no, no, no, no, no,
no. Let's talk about what workout
means. Because a lot of times we're thinking to ourselves,
if I just keep making the right decision, everything's going to come to
pass the way that I've planned it. Now, Jesus made all the right decisions,
right? And where did he end up? On a
cross. Meaning it wasn't easy for him. It didn't mean there was no suffering
for him. It didn't mean that everything
worked out the easiest and softest way. In fact, it was the exact
opposite. It was a very difficult way. And so when we say, well,
if I keep making the right decisions, everything is going to work out.
Yeah, that's right. Everything is going to work out according to
God's plan. Jesus tells us in John 16, 33, he says, I have
said these things to you. He's talking to his disciples.
that in me you may have peace. And then he says, in the world
you will have tribulation. You will have tribulation. Notice
he doesn't say, there's a good possibility that maybe sometimes
you might potentially experience some tribulation. He doesn't
say, some of you might. He says, no, you will experience
tribulation. He doesn't say, you know, some
of you, I see the way you're living. you're going to experience
some tribulation. I mean, isn't that what we tend
to think? We see somebody in tribulation, we see somebody
in a storm, and we go, eh, I don't know how well they've been living.
You know? So as to think that we can avoid
it, we'll avoid it because we're smarter. We're better. I won't make those stupid mistakes
like they made. I mean, that's really where our
heart's at, right? Jesus saying, oh, no, no, no, no, no. Tribulation's
coming. The storm of life is coming.
But he doesn't end there, right? He says, but take heart. Literally,
take courage. Have courage. Have confidence. Why? Because I've overcome the
world. I've overcome death. I've overcome sin. I've overcome
hell. And so what that means, when
Jesus says, I have overcome the world, that means that anything
that life can possibly throw at you, Even the worst of situations
I find myself in because of my own decisions, it's only temporary. Jesus has overcome the world. He's overcome death. He's overcome
hell. And so no matter what comes at
me, it's only going to be temporary because eternally I'm with Him. that no matter what comes at
me, it can't stop me in what God's plan is for me. So, notice
Jesus says, if you take that, take heart. What does it mean
to actually take heart? I think there's a few things
about that storm. When that storm comes, when life
comes, and it has its peaks and its valleys, if we're confident,
meaning if we take heart in those moments, we can be just as confident
in the storm of life, no matter what it is, than when we're on
the mountaintop. So what does it actually mean
to take heart in that? I think there's a few things. First of
all, I think be warned that it's coming, right? Be real. Keep
it real. Don't be foolish to think that. I think a lot of times, some
of the most difficult parts of a storm are when we act like
we cannot believe that this is actually happening to us. So,
obviously there are storms where there's a ton of pain. There's
a ton of hardship. There's things that we experience,
we can't change that. Maybe it's sickness or whatever,
just a divorce. There's parts of that that are
just really, really difficult to handle. But I think oftentimes
we make it more difficult because we act like we didn't expect,
we don't think that this should be happening. Why? Why would we think that we would
be excluded from hardship happening in our lives? Or from a storm
rising up, the waves rising up in our lives? Think how we respond
to storms. It's often more debilitating.
Can be more debilitating. The fear that comes from a storm
that it produces out of us can actually be more debilitating
than the storm itself. See, when they come, I'll tell
you, something that will really keep us afraid, keep us down,
so to speak, are character defects. You know that? When a storm comes,
Jesus is saying, man, that's a temporary thing. But it's the
foolishness that I have when I respond to a storm. It's that pride in me when the
storm comes that says, I don't need God. I don't need help. I've got that callousness in
my heart. that rises up, that thinks, I
don't need other people. I don't need God. I've got this.
I'm going to manage my life. Man, now that can be debilitating. That is the very thing that will
take you down and keep you down, even after the storm has passed.
And it's oftentimes storms. Watch this. It's oftentimes storms
that need to come into our lives to knock that character right
out of us. Is it not true? When it's oftentimes
we think we've got it all together, a storm comes, we begin to realize,
I don't have it all together. I'm not nearly as powerful or
as in control or as manageable as I thought. So be real, right? Be warned. The storm is coming.
So begin to prepare yourself now, not in a frightened way,
but it's what we begin to actually take into our heart in the confidence
knowing that God is with us. that I can get through it, no
matter what life brings at me, if God is with me, then I'll
get through it.