“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.” John 16:32,33
Devotional Thought For The Day
We want to have peace, a deep-seated peace based in reality, in the assurances of God’s love for us, that all will ultimately turn out well for us. We would like to have such assurance in regard to our life in this temporal world, but even more importantly in regard to the life that follows physical death and the greater joys promised to us following Christ’s return in glory and the resurrection of all flesh. Jesus wants His disciples to have this peace as well, and extends it to us. However, the peace He bids us receive is not a complete absence of “tribulation” in this earthly life, but rather a peace that surpasses and overcomes all of the negative experiences that His children have in this world.
The basis, the reality that He assures us of, is that the Father loves us: “In that day you will ask in My Name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came from God.” [John 16:26,27] It is hard for us to fully fathom the joy that the Father has in all who have believed in Jesus, His beloved Son and Redeemer of the world, and who love Jesus. It is comforting that we have Jesus as our “advocate with the Father;” it is also comforting to know that the Father’s love for us is such that we really need no advocate, that through faith in Jesus we are reconciled to God just as in Christ He is fully reconciled to us. This is the peace that He gives to us and wants us to have – and He provides it to us by His Word, by speaking these things to us.
This peace is to prevail even in the face of our failures. He is speaking about His crucifixion and how His disciples “left” Him alone. It is one of the remarkable things that the Gospel writers acknowledge, that of His disciples apparently only John was there [with Mary] at Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross. This was surely a source of great shame, their fearfulness and lack of faith and loyalty to Jesus. Yet even before it happened Jesus assured them that He would not be alone, that the Father would always be with Him [even when “forsaken” by God when He bore the full wrath of God over human sin and suffered our just punishment – a mystery to be sure]. His main concern is with us, that we know without doubt or fear that He is reconciled to us in His gracious mercy, forgiveness, and love.
So it is that the peace is always “in Him,” and in nothing else, nothing in this world. To the contrary, the things of this world offer us no peace or security, but rather trial, trouble, tribulation, and even persecution [2 Tim. 3:12]. So we are directed to the only true and enduring source of peace, and that is Jesus, His love, and the Father’s love. For in love He forgives our sins and cleanses us from all unrighteousness, and especially for His dearly loved ones, those who have believed in His Son and who love Him. There is no question that we have many troubles and fears in this world – our own sin, that of others, natural disasters, financial fears, disease, injury, and finally death. But Jesus assures us that He has “overcome the world,” that it cannot inflict any permanent harm or injury to us. Through His apostle He assures us the same, that “nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” [Rom. 8:39]
So let us hear Him speaking to us. Let us hear His Word and receive His Sacrament and take great joy in knowing and believing His love for us. For in this way He bestows His peace upon us, a peace that surpasses human understanding. This is our blessedness, and this is His joy.
Scripture Cited
2 Tim. 3:12 “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”
Prayer For The Day
Dear Lord Jesus, thank You for Your gift of peace, for so clearly revealing the Father’s love to us and the reality that in You we too have overcome the world. Grant us courage and serenity in facing and enduring the tribulations and indignities of this life, including the failings and betrayals of those we love. Help us to see and know the joy that You have in those who believe in You and who love You, and grant us the same joy, also in the fellowship of Your people. Amen.