by Lydia Floren

In the last blog Learning to Fish, I said:

“It is so easy to forget who Jesus is, and what God can do.  We have seen Him do amazing things yet when we face difficulties, we tend to focus on the problem instead of on The Solution.   When we fixate on the problem, we might get to work trying to find a solution on our own.  The busier we get “solving problems,” the harder it is to remember what—and Who—is important. “

In other words, our problems are not the problem.

As long as we are in this world, we will have problems. In fact, Jesus words are startlingly clear:

“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

The problem is we forget these 2 key truths:  problems are a part of life on earth, and Jesus has overcome the world.

Problems are a part of life on earth.  “In this world you will have trouble.”

We all have problems.  But no one wants them.  We want a life of comfort, undisturbed by pain or distress.  So one reaction we might have to difficulties is to deny that they exist. If we aren’t careful, avoidance or denial can become our primary modus operandi, and it is driven by fear. We are afraid of future problems, or that a difficulty won’t be resolved to our satisfaction. We try to please everybody. We smooth things over.  We worry.  We think that burying our heads in the sand will just make problems go away.

In order to truly overcome, we must first accept that we will have problems throughout our lives.  No one escapes this reality.  According to one study, in a person’s life the average time span between one problem and the next it is 2 weeks.  2 weeks!  That means that, at best, we may have a 14 days reprieved after our last “issue” before we are faced with our next one. While that may sound depressing on the surface, it is really quite liberating, and here’s why:  when we know that difficulties will come, we are less surprised by them.  We can see them as part of the fabric of life, rather than a “detour” from the life we imagined.

The Eeyores among us

Now there are some “Eeyores” among us.  Eeyore, the donkey from the Winnie the Pooh stories, was a cup-half-empty kind of guy.  He always found something to worry about.  Lest you become like—or more like– Eeyore, let me be clear:  Accepting that there will be difficulties on our journey does not mean we are to anticipate trouble around every bend.

When we expect the worst, we live in a pretty dismal reality, and so we tend to cope with this by either enduring or escaping.  Here’s what I mean:

Enduring. If we believe that life is no more than a long series of problems, we might decide that the best we can do is endure it.  We may develop a victim mentality or become poisoned with self-pity.

Escaping. An alternative to enduring is to try to escape life—to check out, via our favorite addiction (food, social media, TV, games, work, thrills, sex, porn, substance abuse, etc.) But the distraction doesn’t cure our hopelessness.

Choose to accept problems as a part of life, but don’t stop there—also embrace the truth that Christ has overcome.  The second half of Jesus’ statement is much more important than the first:

“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Jesus has overcome the world.

While it is important for us to accept troubles as a normal part of life, it is even more crucial to remember this:  Jesus has overcome the world.

What exactly does “overcome the world” mean?

In Greek, “overcome” means “to conquer, or prevail”, and the literal translation for “the world” is “an ordered system.”  Putting these together, Jesus said that He has conquered the ordered system we have been living in, a system riddled with evil and deception. His victory is far more profound than a political coup or a military conquest. His victory is over evil itself! His triumph spans generations and penetrates every willing soul.

So where does that leave us with our troubles?

•  Even though we have troubles, those troubles won’t defeat us.
• Even better, every difficulty we encounter can be used by God for our good.
• Here is something truly amazing:  not only did Jesus overcome this system of evil, He gave each of His children this same power to overcome.   
• We can have peace in Him. Even in the middle of difficult circumstances, God can give us a profound sense of inner peace, a stillness deep within ourselves that no circumstance can touch.

“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.”  John 16:33

Next week: 4 Practical Steps In Overcoming Problems

 

Related posts: Learning to Fish