…In this world, you will have trouble…. (John 16:33)
Golf is hard! Every weekend we watch the PGA pros face seemingly impossible challenges. Knee-deep rough, a ball sitting in a divot in the middle of the fairway, and greens faster than a gym floor are all weekly occurrences for those guys. Most people who play golf are fair at best, few are good enough to play on TV, and none have ever “mastered” the game. Such is life!
I doubt anyone would disagree that life is hard and can sometimes be almost unbearable. The older I get, the physically harder life gets. My joints hurt, I can’t do what I used to, but I still think I can… I have a broken foot to prove it.
Mentally it gets harder because I can’t remember things like I used to. I seem to be a little more impatient with things like loud music and TV commercials. I can’t write like I used to.
The hard life of which I’m speaking is much more than a few achy joints and forgetting what you had for breakfast.
Jesus said, “ …In this world, you will have trouble…”
Jesus told his disciples they were going to have trouble on earth. He even told them, “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first.”
We live in a sinful, fallen world, and with that comes problems. Sickness, disease, natural disasters, bad decisions, and the list goes on and on.
As followers of Christ, we gain a different perspective on life, which doesn’t mean life gets easier. It just means we deal with life differently.
Here are three perspectives you may want to try:
- Develop an “expiration date” perspective. All problems have an expiration date! That’s right. We don’t know when they will expire, but ultimately, they will. 1 John 2:17 “The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.”
- Develop a “Passin’ Thru” perspective. John 14:1-3 says, “My Father’s house has many rooms; if it were not so, would I have told you I am going there to prepare a place for you?” This world is not our home!
- Develop an Eternal Perspective. Col. 3:2 tells us to “Set our minds on things above, not on earthly things.” What are you doing that has an eternal impact? Where are you investing your time, talent and money?
It should comfort us that Jesus told us we would have troubles in this world. But he also said, “Take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Prayer: Father! Teach me to approach life from a biblical perspective!