“Like the frost on a rose
Winter comes for us all
Oh how nature acquaints us
With the nature of patience
Like a seed in the snow
I’ve been buried to grow
For Your promise is loyal
From seed to sequoia”

John 16:33 (NLT) says; “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

I pondered this passage in the afternoon as I belatedly took some time to mediate during my day. ‘Take heart, I have overcome the world’. How often do I let the world overcome me? The truth is, this season is often the hardest for me. This season of leaving the ‘field’, the place where God had sent me and had used me, and then coming back to everyday living. Think of it like, Elijah on the top of mount Carmel calling down fire, showcasing God’s power, slaying all those who had defiled the name of the Lord, only to receive a message from an evil queen hellbent on killing him. So, he runs, nay, flees into the desert, sits beneath a tree, and literally asks God to kill him (1 Kings 18 & 19). First of all, I am very glad that God does not answer all of our prayers. I know for sure that I am glad that He does not answer all of mine. I would be dead a thousand times over, and I might have killed or injured some people along the way. But, let’s leave that for now and be thankful.

This place of being. This place of struggle. The struggle is not the issue, it is part of the process. But, how often do we let the world overcome us? Why is our hearts troubled? Believe in God. Trust in Him. The truth is, that is often easier said than done. The memory verses are wonderful to know, but that’s just it. Often times, they just reside in our memory. They hover on the surface and do not become bone deep, soul deep, carved on our hearts deep, to the point where they are the only reference points of our life.

The truth is, Jesus already won. He won the victory. We are not talking future tense (He will), nor are we talking present tense (He is), we are talking past tense, already done, recorded in history, cannot be refuted tense (HE HAS). Jesus has won the victory. He already knows the end result. He operates in a backwards design style of lesson teaching, and guidance (shout-out to all my fellow teachers out there). What this simply means is that He has already been to where we are going, He already knows how to get there, and He simply doubled-back to lead us to where He knows we need to be at.

We do not have an advocate who is unfamiliar with our plight. We are not in a family that is unaware of who we are. We do not serve a God who does not have a plan. If you think anything in your life is taking God by surprise, you are the one that is in for a surprise. We are not on a journey that has an uncertain outcome. So…

Why is your heart troubled? Why have you let the world overcome you? Believe in God. Trust in Him. Don’t just read, hear, or look at the scriptures. Ingest it. Like you eat food to provide your body the energy it needs to operate, ingest the Word of God, ingest the Truth in a way that allows it to become your very life blood. Get back to the basics. The basics where it is no longer a life of ‘I’, but a life of ‘He’ that lives in me (Galatians 2:20).

“I know though the winter is long
Even richer the harvest it brings
Though my waiting prolongs
Even greater Your promise for me like a seed
I believe that my season will come

I can see the promise
I can see the future
You’re the God of seasons
And I’m just in the winter
If all I know of harvest
Is that It’s worth my patience
Then, if You’re not done working
God, I’m not done waiting!”

Psalm 16:8, "I have set the Lord always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved" (NLT).

References:
Davenport, Chris; Hastings, Benjamin & Tan, Ben. (2017, December, 15). Seasons. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaEx2A7p9Dk

YouVersion. Images. (2020). John 16:33 NLT. Retrieved from https://www.bible.com/moments.

YouVersion. Holy Bible. New Living Translation. 2015. Tyndale House Foundation. Retrieved from https://www.bible.com/