A World of Hurt

³¹ Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? ³² Behold, an hour is coming, and has already come, for you to be scattered, each to his own home, and to leave Me alone; and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. ³³ These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

The Disciples were about to face their greatest trial, watching the One they had come to love, trust and cherish, die.  This One they had seen heal hundreds, feed thousands, teach many more.  They had come to know Him as the Savior of the World.  But they had no idea what being the Savior of the World was going to cost Him, was going to cost them.  Jesus came to die.  His mission in life, His purpose for living, ultimately, was dying.  No one could ever have prepared the disciples for this loss.  Jesus had explained it to them, several times, but they just weren’t getting it.  They were going to have to enter their own Gardens of Gethsemane, even as Jesus did, and cry out, “Not my will, but Yours be done!”

We live in a world of hurt.  People take advantage of us.  They use us, and when they have gotten everything out of us that they perceive they need, they throw us away and move on.   How does one survive in such a place of wounding.  I work with little children, and I marvel at the way they work things out.  They are so vulnerable and honest.  When they are uncomfortable in any way, they say so, either by crying, striking out at another child, or yelling.  As we grow up, we are gently guided and taught (hopefully) to curb our outbursts, and to hold things in quite a bit more.  I have been hurt countless times by others, and the pain actually seemed to carry a physical weight for me.  I remember asking a friend, “But what am I supposed to do with all this pain?  How can I be rid of it?  Who do I give it to?”  She had no answer for me.  The world has the wrong answer to this question.  It tells us to, “Suck it up, and move on!” We are expected to hold it in, toughen up, bolster ourselves against such a fierce and angry world.

But Jesus’s way of teaching us is different.  In the above passage, He first tells us that He knows that He is going to be forsaken, and left alone, but His Healing Place is the knowledge that He is never alone for the Father is with Him.  This is our solace, Dear Sweet Friends, Our Father in Heaven is right here with us.  When Jesus is our Savior, we are never forsaken.  Jesus wants us to have His Peace.

³³ These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace.

Our Father who is in Heaven is where we take all the pain, from this World of Hurt.  Jesus is the Man of Sorrows, acquainted with grief.  We will look at Isaiah 53 tomorrow.  This teaching is going to happen over several days of Posts, so tune in if you can. In the meantime remember:

In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”