Day 2196 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.

John 16:33 NIV

I woke up today to find that my mom is feeling completely horrible again. I hate seeing people not feel well, especially when they just look done and ready to throw in the towel because it's so miserable. There's been a lot of that for most us lately. Pain, illness, being worn out by everything that we're dealing with. Life is this constant series of ups and downs. But over the past year or so it seems that the downs are more frequent and longer lasting.

So it got me to thinking about how rough life can become. That's not some huge secret or surprise to anyone. Every one of us have faced plenty of situations that have helped us see that fact. But what do we do about it? Do we roll over and give up the ghost? Do we whine and complain all the time? Do we let the hard days get us down so far that no amount of good days can lift us back up?

Well, all of those are options I guess but not one of them will help us in any way. What will always help though is leaning on Christ. Clinging to Him doesn't make all our problems disappear but it does help us know that He will get us through them. Holding onto our faith doesn't grant us some kind of immunity to hardship or pain. It doesn't open this secret door to a hidden life where everything is just easy. It simply helps us keep everything in perspective.

Yes, some days in life are going to suck. There's not way around that. But the bad days never have to beat us. The pain never has the right to win. The battles we face aren't there to destroy us. They're there to help us see just how badly we need Jesus and push us to run to Him and stay as close as we can get. That's exactly what this verse is reminding us. We will have trials and tribulations throughout our time down here on earth. But He's already won the final victory!

Just know that whatever you face in life will not change what He has already determined. Nothing can change His victory over pain, misery, darkness, evil, and even death itself. He has overcame the very worst that life and this world can dish out. He will help us get through it all too. And if we can hold tight to Him through it all then we will share in His final victory too!