Life has a way of throwing things at us. We all face adversity. We all experience hardship. That’s the nature of living in a fallen world. But Jesus is greater than any challenge you will face. He is bigger than any obstacle you will encounter. He is more powerful than any problem you will experience. And He will lead you into victory.
“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
In the world you will have tribulation
You don’t have to be alive for too long to know that the statement of Jesus is true. Life has a way of throwing things at us. We all face adversity. We all experience hardship. That’s the nature of living in a fallen world.
But some people don’t believe this. They mistakenly believe that we can somehow avoid all trials and tribulation simply by living inside the will of God. And if they’re facing any hardship, they assume they must not be in the will of God. They may ask, “If I’m in the will of God, why is this happening to me?” Perhaps you have thought the same thing. But experiencing hardship in and of itself may not be a sign that you are outside the will of God. It may simply mean that you need to overcome the trial, whether it’s a spiritual battle or natural.
Consider Jesus. If simply being in the will of God meant that we would not face any hardship whatsoever, then Jesus Himself would not have experienced any hardship in His own life on earth. But He did. Think about it. Jesus not only lived a perfect life, but He walked in God’s perfect will. He fully pleased the Lord in all things, yet He still faced hardship. In fact, Jesus said to His disciples in Luke 22:28, “You are those who continued with Me in My trials.” He faced trials, just like you and me.
Outside of the cross, we don’t tend to think about the various trials Jesus faced in everyday life, but the gospels point out many of the common trials He encountered. For example: Jesus experienced weariness from a long journey in the hot desert sun. His cousin was murdered by the government. One of His good friends, Lazarus, also died. A crowd wanted to throw Jesus off a cliff. His hometown family friends rejected Him. The Pharisees constantly plotted how they could trap Him and even put Him to death. Even His mom and siblings began to question Him. He was betrayed by one of His closest friends and ministry partners. Even his best friend, Peter, denied Him. Thomas doubted Him. Crowds walked away from Him.
Jesus also experienced emotional battles. The Bible says that He wept multiple times. Matthew’s gospel says that while Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsamene, He was deeply distressed and said to the disciples, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even to death.” Isaiah points out that Jesus experienced rejection, sorrow and grief.
“He is despised and rejected by men. A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” Isaiah 53:3
Isaiah 53 goes on to say that Jesus also experienced physical pain. He was beaten, bruised, whipped, and wounded. He was also verbally abused and chastised. People mocked Him and made fun of Him. Many thought that even God Himself turned His back on Him.
But here’s the good news: Jesus overcame every obstacle and every trial He faced. He walked in complete victory.
“Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
And Jesus not only walked in complete victory regarding natural trials and emotional trials, He also won the victory against spiritual trials as well. In fact, He completely stripped the devil and his demonic forces of their power and authority on the earth.
“[He] stripped the spiritual rulers and powers of their authority. With the cross, he won the victory and showed the world that they were powerless.” Colossians 2:15 (NCV)
Jesus literally overcame every battle, won the complete victory, and destroyed the very works of the devil. But it gets even better! He won the battle not only for Himself, but especially for me and you.
Think about how special this is: Because Jesus Himself personally experienced—and overcame—trials in His own life, He is therefore able to relate to you and me on a very personal level when we are facing trials of our own, whether natural, emotional or spiritual.
“This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.” Hebrews 4:15 (NLT)
“We don’t have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all—all but the sin.” Hebrews 4:15 (The Message)
This means that Jesus is not out of touch with the trials we face. He Himself experienced the same things first hand. He understands what we’re going through and He relates to us. And He personally offers to help us experience the same victory in our lives as well.
In Jesus you will have victory
“…in the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
Even when we’re in the midst of facing various trials in life, Jesus tells us to be of good cheer. This means we have hope beyond our current circumstances. We have something to hold on to as an anchor during the storm. Jesus said, “I have overcome the world.”
You may be thinking to yourself: “That’s all fine and dandy that Jesus overcame the trials He faced, but what about me? I’m the one currently living on earth facing trials of my own.” If so, consider what Hebrews goes on to say:
“For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:15–16 (NKJV)
This passage is so powerful and encouraging! Please hear this: Jesus not only overcame every single trial that He personally faced in life, but He also offers to help you and me overcome the trials we are facing in life as well. The Bible says the following in Hebrews 13:5-6.
“…He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we may boldly say: “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear…” (NKJV)
Think about what Jesus said. The One who overcame the world is personally telling you and me that He will never leave us nor forsake us. In other words, He is always there for us. He will never leave us on our own. And He will help us. Therefore, whenever we are facing any trials, you and I can be confident, and we can stand up to the trials we face and boldly declare in faith, “The Lord is my helper! I will not fear!” We have nothing to be afraid of when the Lord is with us.
In fact, Romans 8:31 says, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” In other words, when God is on our side, nothing can stand against us. Why? “Because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”
Jesus Christ is greater than any challenge you will face. He is bigger than any obstacle you will encounter. He is more powerful than any problem you will experience. And He is on your side. He is your Helper. And He will always lead you in victory.
“Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ.” 2 Corinthians 2:14 (NKJV)
This should get you excited! Jesus will always lead you in victory. He loves you. And He will never let you down.
More than conquerors
You may be facing a trial right now, amd Jesus knows the way to victory. He will lead you there. No doubt about it. You just simply need to come to Jesus.
“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:15–16 (NKJV)
We are personally invited by the Lord to come to Him with boldness. And when we do, we will find the grace to help in our time of need. But the question is: How do we approach Him? How do we access our victory? One way is through prayer.
“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6–7 (NLT)
Another way to receive victory is through praise and worship.
“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting…” Psalm 100:4–5 (NKJV)
All over the Bible there is precedent of God coming through in mighty ways when His people would call out to Him with praise and worship. Two examples are when Jehoshaphat faced a very fierce battle and when Paul and Silas were in prison. He will do the same for you! God will come through in big ways when we enter into His presence with praise and worship. God is always faithful!
It’s time to win the battle. It’s time to walk in victory. It’s time to come to the Lord with boldness through prayer, praise and worship. And when you do, you will access His grace and His strength, and you will be supernaturally helped in your time of need.
Have faith in a God who is bigger than your problem. Who will deliver you from the trials you are facing. Who will always lead you in triumph. Let me close with this:
“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? … Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? … Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” Romans 8:31–37 (NKJV)
No matter what you may be facing, YOU ARE MORE THAN A CONQUEROR!
Tristan Fenholt 