Trouble

I work in a State Correctional environment. Trouble is the word that best describes such an environment. What is funny is that Jesus describes the world this way, "In this life you will have trouble" (John 16:33). The good news is that He continues to tell us to take courage because He has overcome the world.

This sounds great!! But life is too hard. The writer of Hebrews meets this head-on. He shows that the only way to overcome is by faith (Chapter 11). In Chapter 12 he tells us that we have all the heroes of faith and the example of Jesus, who by the way is the source of our faith and the one who makes our faith more mature, to encourage us in the fight. Then, he punches us in the gut with this phrase, "you have not YET resisted to the point of shredding your blood" (12:4). I think it's saying - suck it up, stop whining. Life is going to be hard. We have found ourselves in the battle. The question is, how we are going to respond to the battle?

In this life you will have trouble...TAKE HEART ...He has overcome the world for us!