I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world. John 16:33

 

Ever heard the saying, “Troubles come in threes?”

William Shakespeare once put it like this: “When sorrows come, they come not single spies, but in battalions.”[1] Have you experienced it? A text wakes you up in the night. It’s bad news.  The next morning, your job ends, the one you thought would take you to retirement. Then, your long-time friend turns their back on you.

You are experiencing what the Bible calls “problems and trials,” part of living in an imperfect, broken world. “In the world,” said Jesus to His disciples, “you will have trials and sorrows” (John 16:33a). The Greek word which is usually translated “trials, sorrows or tribulation” is better understood in the context of stress or pressure today.  It literally means “a compressed or narrow way” –stress which you certainly didn’t ask for but can’t avoid.

When Jesus talked to the disciples about stressful troubles, He gave them hope, saying, “But take heart, because I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). He knew His suffering in death, and all suffering, will be ultimately overcome because of His sacrificial death and resurrection. Right in the middle of the trials and sorrows though, He said, “I am not alone, because the Father is with me (John 16:32). Jesus-follower, you also are not alone.

When we cry out to Him and experience His answer, we learn of a staying power we didn’t even know we had. We also experience God’s sustaining help in ways we would never, otherwise know– when He sends someone, a unlikely friend, to be a help, or a word of encouragement through Scripture. You are not alone. Take heart in Him today.

[1] Saurabh. “When Sorrows Come, They Come Not Single Spies, but in Battalions.” Shakespeare Quotes & Plays, 30 Sept. 2019, shakespearequotesandplays.com/2016/06/26/when-sorrows-come/.