The One who has overcome the world

⁸ “Behold, I go forward but He is not there, And backward, but I cannot perceive Him; ⁹ When He acts on the left, I cannot behold Him; He turns on the right, I cannot see Him. ¹⁰ “But He knows the way I take; When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold. ¹¹ “My foot has held fast to His path; I have kept His way and not turned aside. ¹² “I have not departed from the command of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food. ¹³ “But He is unique and who can turn Him? And what His soul desires, that He does. ¹⁴ “For He performs what is appointed for me, and many such decrees are with Him. (Job 23)

A precious, young believer had been watching us from afar.  My husband and I have been through a lot of struggles lately.  Many things have gone wrong for us over the past 10 years.  There has been an economic down turn, job loss, loss of house and home, moving, new jobs.  There have been false accusations, fears, worries, doubts,  andlies of the enemy to battle.  And most recently we have had illness after illness, with two hospital trips for my husband.  The second one being the loss of the top part of his finger.  As a guitar player, that’s scary, because he plays and writes a lot of music.  It’s been tough, but God has been really good to us.  In the beginning of the struggles, I felt abandoned, confused, lost, and wondered where God was in all of this.  It just kept coming and coming.  When would it end?  When would things get back to normal?

This young lady extended her heart to us in the form of an encouraging letter and a Date night out to Cheesecake Factory.  It was a much enjoyed time of being alone together, just Bruce and I.  We sat and talked and walked out in Nature and just enjoyed God’s presence and each other’s.

The above passage of Scripture gave me much comfort.  I realized. through all this, that “Normal,” in this world, is struggle.  Jesus gives us a promise that I don’t hear preached on very much. “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)

Bruce and I have been truly learning just how much Jesus really has overcome the world, and all its troubles.  He is such a refuge and strength to us.  We have been reached out to  by our Small Group at church, cared for by them.  We have been shown the love of Christ through other believers, like this precious young woman from his job. Christ’s love has been felt so vividly through it all.  These Beloved Believers have been the hands, feet and arms of Christ to us.  They have shown us how Jesus overcomes the world through love of one another.  Truly, I may not know where God is in the midst of struggle and pain.  But He knows the way I take; and when I have been tried, I shall come forth as Gold.  Rest in the One who has overcome the world. Let us be the hands and feet of Jesus to each other.