JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Promise of Hope is based on John 16:33.

Among His final words to the disciples before His death, Jesus said, “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.” Three days later, He would rise from the dead.

If you experience trouble in this world, you are not alone. Jesus told us it would be this way. He is honest with us about the challenges we will face while we live on the earth. Financial stress, loneliness, physical sickness, grief, and persecution for our faith are a number of troubling realities that people face in this world.

But to the person who trusts in Jesus and follows Him daily, there is another reality-a greater reality that gives us peace in the midst of the storms of life. Jesus has overcome the world. Because He has overcome the world, we can have faith that He will help us to overcome the world too. We live with this hope in First John 5:5, “Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.”

Victory in Christ is a promise of hope for those who follow Jesus in the Year of Trust.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com