Take Heart!

One thing I love about the Christian walk is that Jesus doesn’t give you a bunch of sunshine and roses optimism designed to make you feel good that actually has no basis in reality. He doesn’t say to you, “Cheer up! This isn’t really all that bad.” or, “Look on the bright side, this can’t last forever.” or, “At least it can’t get any worse.” In fact, Jesus tells us straight-up that we will have problems and troubles. He doesn’t try to protect our feelings from the truth. He doesn’t lie to make us feel more comfortable or safe.  

What’s more, Jesus tells us that not only will we face problems, but that we’re not even strong to enough to handle them! Jesus doesn’t say, “You’re going to run into some trials today, but you’re so tough and mature that you’ll probably be just fine.” Ha! Jesus tells us we’re going to face hard times and then lets us know in the same breath that we don’t have what it takes to navigate those hard times. I love how honest He is, because it makes me feel better about the fact that I don’t have any earthly idea how to face these things! I’m headed for trouble and I am too weak and unprepared to handle it. What now?! 

That’s where Jesus comes in. See, this is not the kind of religion where someone tells you everything’s fine when it really sucks, and it’s not the kind of deal where someone tells you how truly amazing you are when you’re really struggling quite a bit. It’s the kind of thing where the leader of the deal says, “In this world you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world.” - John 16:33