Recently I was asked by a good friend, “How’s St. Louis?” Since we recently moved here, I get that question fairly often. I would normally automatically respond, “It’s great,” without thinking twice. However, as I sat with that question a little longer. I replayed the last couple of months in my mind like an old VHS tape. Here’s the fast-forwarded version: We moved to St. Louis in the winter, then the pandemic shut down the world, then two weeks ago my parents’ home was hit by a tornado. So...Good, not great.
I’m reminded that we aren’t promised an easy ride when we follow Christ. In John 16, while Jesus is talking to the disciples about his impending death and departure, He says in verse 33:
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble but take heart! I have overcome the world
.” In this verse, we see a couple of guarantees: First, the followers of Jesus
will
have hardships, and second, Jesus has already won. He didn’t want his disciples to assume that their lives would be easy and comfortable, and he doesn’t want us to think that either.
The reality is that life is beautiful and sometimes it hurts. In the words of the great Philadelphian philosopher, Rocky Balboa, “
nobody is going to hit as hard as life.”
Life is and will be hard. When sin entered the world through Adam and Eve, we were assured that. Like Big Bend Blvd, the road of our lives will be full of potholes and detours. However, in the midst of the uncertainty of what lies ahead, we can root ourselves deep in the joy and peace afforded to us through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.
In other words, our Joy is anchored in something so much bigger that the world cannot take away. It’s in the risen Christ where we find hope, joy, and peace to sustain and strengthen us. Lean into that; spend time with Jesus, talk to Him and cling to his word.
And
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
(Romans 15:13)
Kyle
