Be Courageous

You Have His Peace - Worry for Nothing

Joshua 1:9

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; Do not be discouraged. For the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

John 16:33

I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.

The world is full of tribulation – day in and day out, we see suffering from oppression.

• We feel the distress from inflation – the escalating cost of food and gas. Will there be shortages?

• We worry about the potential war with Russia.... or an escalation. Is this the beginning of WW3 or the Armageddon the Bible predicts?

• We’re fighting with politicians over mandates and masks -will we ever have fair elections again?

• And to top it off, business taxes are due in just a few weeks.

But tribulation, suffering, wars and rumors of wars have been on the Earth since the beginning of time. Look how many battles are spoken of in the Old testament – in bloody, gory detail. Tens of thousands were smote in a single battle!! And yet, humanity continued on – to grow, to populate, to create marvelous technologies.

In this passage, John16: 25-33, Jesus was telling His disciples that He would be leaving soon to go home to be with His Heavenly Father. It was finally becoming clear to them, that He WAS the Messiah, and He really DID come forth from God. (After three years together, seeing miracle after miracle, these first disciples were super slow learners!)

Jesus told them that no matter what they saw around them, they were to have courage and be at peace. There was nothing in the world that they could not overcome.. and there was nothing that could KEEP them down or hold them back.

Why? Because any physical thing that was happening around them, Jesus had already conquered. A little earlier, in John 14:27 Jesus said:

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

He meant His perfect peace will keep us calm in every circumstance and His spirit will give us courage and strength for every challenge. EVERY challenge, trial, tribulation and stressful circumstance.

Take a moment and really FEEL that peace, His peace. That deep down, unshakable, confident peace. Can it be any better than that?

TODAY’S PRAYER (adopted from John 17)

Jesus, You are no longer physically in this world, but You remain in this world with us spiritually. Holy Father, protect us in the name of Jesus, so that we may become ONE with You, as You and Lord Jesus are One.

Father, we are not asking to be taken out of the world but to be protected by the blood of Jesus when the Evil One comes after our body, our thoughts, our minds, and our very soul.

We don’t belong to the world, but just as Jesus was IN the world, remind us we are not OF this world.

Sanctify us with the truth of Your Word. Keep us in a place of love and kindness. Protect us and guard us, as You did Your physical followers when You walked on this Earth. With Your love and guidance, none who were faithful were lost.  

We pray for those who have heard the Good News – that Jesus has conquered the world. We pray that their walk with You will grow stronger every day, through the messages found in Your Word. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.