John 16:33, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have trouble. But take heart, I have overcome the world.”

Not always a trial…

But today’s topic is something that I haven’t fully processed. but it feel necessary to write about. I became a Christian November 20, 2010. That day forever changed my life and as if scales fell off my eyes, I saw the world in a new light. I was fervent;y following Christ with my whole heart. As I grew older, the challenges of this life had surprised me. From church hurt to friendship breakup and the expectations of life that never came- I felt frustrated. At times, as a christian when life wasn’t going my way. I would often blame God and ask why. As if God, had caused all my woes rather than my own choices and external circumstances. Life hits hard from 20s to 30s. That road to adulthood rough and sometimes uneasy. And as a Chrisitan, it’s been easy to blame God for it. Instead of ask myself, what about life was bothering me. And how do I process the inevitable ups and downs of life. It’s not always a test or a trial — sometimes life is just hard. And how we perceive these hard times, affects the quality of our life and the ability to build a capacity to handle them.

Time will tell what soil you are

I am reminded in of the parable of the sower. If you haven’t read that parable, you can find it in Matthew 1-9,18-23! The parable is a metaphor for how people receive Word of God. This parable has transformed the way I have looked at salvation because it talks about 4 different types of soil the “seed” or God’s word will fall on. Depending on the condition of the soil, the see will grow or fail. In one of the soils, the ground was thorny. When Jesus explains this, as for the seed sown on thorns- this explains a person word but the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word and make it unfruitful. Many times when people come to know God we don’t know what soil the word of God fell upon. We won’t know until it bears fruit. Just as you don’t see the fruit of a seed you plant the same day. I think as Chrisitan’s we don’t talk about this parable enough. Life gets hard and like the “thorns” of this life cans sometimes choke the word of God, that is supposed to produce much fruit. So what does this have to do with grief?

Life’s grief

So much of our grief stems from failed expectations and false ideas of life. Or the cares of this life loom larger than following God. For me, I expected life to go exactly as my mind stated! Silly I know. But adulthood hits hard when you have more responsibility.When you have to go to a 9-5 everyday when you rather not. When you wish you were in XYZ scenario and it didn’t happened like you wished. And then add on, trying to follow God that tells you to go opposite of what everyone else is doing. To deny yourself, pick up your cross and follow Him. To be selfless, when you would rather be selfish. And time has a way of revealing the kind of ground the Word of God fell into. In short, It reveals you. It will be 15 years this year walking with the Lord. And As I have looked at my life, there are somethings I have blamed God for that were never his fault. It was just life. I often over spiritualized the hardships of life that are all too common to all people.

Grief in life is quite normal

Something’s in life just are. And while that doesn’t always quell the sting of the pain we will face in this life, it can provide HOPE. Jesus says in John 16:33, I have said these things to you that you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation. But take heart, I have overcome the world.” He says this because he knows there will be much trouble that we endure in this life whether you believe in God or not. The Hope we have is that, our peace does not come from this world or external circumstances.Our peace is in Him. True peace come from knowing God. In the famous, Philippians 4:13, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. But before that verse, in verse 12 Paul clarifies what he means. Pauls states, “I know how to be bought low and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. ” Paul states he had to learn be content in any circumstances life threw at him. He learned that through Christ, he can endure all things. Meaning Paul didn’t just get this concept of contentment right away. He had to learn to be content in any circumstance and so do we. how often do we think of contentment as a necessaryskill? Jesus says in John 16:33, He is our peace in the midst of life’s troubles. So the question I have been pondering is how can I learn to be content with the up’s and down’s of life? How can I learn to increase my capacity to experience hardship? How can I learn to be hopeful in the midst of life being unkind? How do I still approach life with wonder even if life is kicking me in the face? In both John 16:33 and Philippians 4:12-13- the answer is Jesus. He is to be our peace. Practically this feels like the right answer to every Bible study question. But I think its more than that.

Jesus, an example of weathering Life’s grief.

We have a lot to learn from Jesus when it comes to handling grief and the overall challenges in life. In Isaiah 53, Jesus is described as the man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Jesus had no place to rest his head. His family didn’t believe his message. Jesus was nearly stoned to death for telling the truth. He experienced being misunderstood and hated. Jesus experienced the pain of death. Jesus asked God if there was another way other than the cross to save his people. Jesus was deserted by his friends and even betrayed by one of them. These are just a few of the things he endured. But how did Jesus respond? When Jesus was tempted he used scripture to combat the devils’ lies. When HE was confronted with those who hated them, he did not put his truth in them. When stressed about his imminent death, he asked God to take his cup yet still submitted to God’s will above his. If there is anyone we can learn how to experience peace in chaos– its Jesus. He is our peace. Hebrews 4:15 says,“For we do not have a high priest [Jesus] who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses. let us then with confidence, draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in the tie of need.” As simple as it sounds, we need to go to God. We need to go to Him honestly and laying down every issue before him. As I grow more and more in my walk with God, I realized the basic truths never get old. They are true and remain so. Getting deeper with God is living out these truths in ever growing measure. So I encourage you to draw near to God to get help with life’s ups and downs. And pray we learn like Paul the skill of a good life , contentment!