Tribulation

Tribulation (by David Peterson of The Rock Of Jesus Church)

On His last night of freedom before His arrest, Jesus shares many things with His disciples in what is known as “The Farewell Discourse”. Jesus is preparing His disciples for life without Himself and in John 16:33 he says: “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.” Jesus has warned them that following Him would bring persecution and suffering and even tribulation times of great trouble. “If they persecute me, they will also persecute you” Jesus tells them. The same goes for us: brace for being criticized and ostracized on account for believing in Christ Jesus.

The brilliant Welsch minister Martyn Lloyd-Jones once wrote: “Our Lord does not promise to change life for us; He does not promise to remove difficulties and trials and problems and tribulations; He does not say that He is going to cut out all the thorns and leave the roses with their wonderful perfume. No; He faces life realistically, and tells us that these are things to which the flesh is heir, and which are bound to come. But He assures us that we can so know Him that, whatever happens, we need never be frightened, we need never be alarmed.”Lloyd-Jones echoes the words of Jesus that we can expect trouble in our lives but we can have peace, we can have serenity, by knowing Jesus intimately.

“We gather together to ask the Lord's blessing” is a hymn translated by Theodore Baker from a 1625 Netherlands folk song. The first stanza reads;

We gather together to ask the Lord's blessing;

He chastens and hastens His will to make known;

the wicked oppressing now cease from distressing.

Sing praises to His name, He forgets not His own.

This hymn reinforces the words of Jesus in that we are blessed when we follow His will even though wicked people will persecute us as believers.

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, you are our protector, our refuge, and strength against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. While we can expect tribulation while here on earth we can be courageous because you are with us. Amen.