Day 2650 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.

John 16:33 NIV

Yesterday we talked about how hope and trust and this unwavering belief in something bigger than us is often all we have. This world is crumbling. It's unbelievably broken and getting worse by the day. And in the midst of so much hurting and darkness and anger, all of us are desperately seeking something good. We're all looking for something to keep us going and keep our spirits up when the world inevitably brings pain and disappointment and frustration. And it’s left me thinking about the assurances that we do have in our faith.

This one from John chapter 16 was the first that popped in my mind. In this world, we will have trouble. We will face hardship. We will endure trials. We will witness horrible tragedies. We will feel this impossible pain that we simply do not understand how to handle. We will go through times when it seems that nothing makes sense and everything is spinning out of control. We will hurt. We will fear. We will doubt. We will be angry. We will feel rage. We will be surrounded by a darkness that is more evil, more wicked, more dangerous than we can possibly fathom.

Yet people still foolishly expect life to be easy. They think that somehow faith and believing in something good just magically makes all the bad disappear. You even have speakers who tell people that very nonsense. Just pray once and all your problems will vanish. All your dreams will come true. God will come down here and bring you all the money you want and instantly transport you to some wonderful paradise where nothing is ever wrong, you never feel any pain, and you can simply spend the rest of your time here in this perfect bliss until you slide right into Heaven and the party continues.

These lies that people want to believe are truly detrimental to what faith really is. They go against the reality that we're going to be faced with during our time here. When you learn to expect faith to make you immune to trial and hardship, then you're building your faith on the most unstable foundation possible. You're building your faith on a lie! What's going to happen when you expect faith to make you immune to struggle yet you find yourself struggling? What happens to your faith when it doesn't take away all the hurting from life? What happens when this flimsy idea of faith that makes you think you'll never have trouble in life shatters as the troubles of life come anyway?

It's no wonder that more people don't believe what we believe. They hear all these lies telling them that a life of faith is a life of ease, yet they don't see any differences in the world. There's still hurting. There is still anger. There is still violence. Still hatred. Still depravity. Still immorality. Still darkness that only grows more dim every passing day. So when we tell people that all it takes is a single prayer to make all the bad guys go away, then we're selling a lie that only causes people to question their faith when those lies inevitably turn out to be wrong.

Again, people want assurances. They want something they can rely on. So if they want something sure that they can in fact rely on, then they want the truth. They may not like the truth, but they need the truth. And the truth is that sometimes life is going to suck. Sometimes it's going to break us to pieces. Sometimes our hearts will hurt so badly that we don't know what to do. Sometimes the world will show us its absolute worst and leave us reeling as we struggle to hold onto the thinnest thread of hope that not all is lost to the evil we see all around us. That's the truth. That's what people need to hear. That's the assurance that we have as we continue living in a world where evil is more popular than faith.

What's amazing about this verse is that it not only teaches us that scary truth, but it also gives us another promise in which we can hope and find peace during those impending days of darkness and worry and doubt. We will be tested, beaten, persecuted, hated, and judged. We will watch the world around us plummet further toward the depths of hell as wickedness continues its evil work in the hearts and minds of those who refuse to care. We will hurt for those who suffer at the hands of that evil. But through it all, we have the promise that all that evil will meet its end.

That's why we need the truth. Truth is built on a solid foundation that we can always trust in because the truth is unchangeable. And when we build our faith on the truth, then we can strengthen it by adding more truth. We start with the truth that we will have trouble. But then we can add the truth that Christ has already overcome the worst this world can bring. And then we add the truth that He will never leave nor forsake us. Then we add the truth that He has gone to prepare a place for us that we can hope in. Then we add the truth that one day this world and all its evil ways will end and we'll get to see Jesus face to face.

You can't build up those assurances without a foundation of truth. Friends, don't expect faith to make life perfect. We're still in a fallen world that only chooses to prove its fallen state every day. This world has chosen to serve the king of evil and darkness. What do we expect? This place has turned away from God and laughs at those who choose to put their faith and trust in Him. What do we expect? The evil in this world tried to kill the very definition of love on a cross. What do we expect? The darkness around here is celebrated as some sort of amazing opportunity to cater to the desires of the flesh while ignoring the dangers of doing so. What do we expect? The world has set its sights on doing as much wrong as humanly possible. What do we expect? This place has made a hobby of finding new ways to do more evil than ever before. What do we expect?

Things will not get better because the world around us has chosen their path. And that path is for evil and not for good. So our time here will be hard. It will be painful. It will push us to the limits and leave us with nothing but hope in Christ. But He Himself gave us the warning and the promise found in this verse. We will have trouble, but He has overcome it. We will hurt, but we will find healing. We will be scared and angry and tired, but we will find peace. As much as we'd all like faith to just instantly make the world perfect, it just doesn't work that way because the world refuses to work to make it so. But our faith does help us see the evil around us for what it is and it reminds us just how badly we need to cling to Jesus as the rest of the world clings to sin.

Evil may be living it up right now, but it won't be that way forever. We may be hurting and angry and tired of seeing so much filth all the time. We may be sick to death of seeing people hurt and see the wrong side win. We may wish that things weren’t the way they clearly are. But the darkness we see only reminds us just how important our faith really is. So hold on to the promise, to the assurance we have in Christ. The road may not get easier, but no matter how bad things may get, none of it will ever change the promise we have in His ultimate victory over evil.

#LeaveNoSoulUntold