Editor's note: Enjoy today's devotion from Come Close to Jesus by Lysa TerKeurst.
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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
Sometimes we think if we can just get through this circumstance, life will finally be calm. We’ll at last have the peace and happiness we’ve longed for. But what if life settling down and all your disappointments going away was the worst thing that could happen to you? What if your “I don’t know” is helping you grow in trusting Jesus?
When we’re scared, uncomfortable, confused, or struggling with a situation, it’s so easy to focus on simply wanting the pain to go away and to finally be free of challenges and struggles. We long for relief and comfort and peace. And we can have those things — but not by focusing on all our problems being gone. As today’s verse reminds us, our hearts must stay close to Him by trusting in His promise to overcome.
I wish I could promise you that your struggles will soon go away or that everything will turn out just the way you want it to. Yet as much as I wish I could, I can’t. What I can promise you is this:
Challenges can help us learn to depend on God.
Depending on Him means we keep praying, we keep believing, we keep trusting His promises. We can’t see the whole picture right now, but God does. And relying on Him means we trust that there is a reason why He isn’t letting us see the whole picture. Maybe if we knew too much, we would rush past the lessons God has for us that are crucially important for our futures. The training ground is here in the “I don’t know.” This time isn’t a waste, and it’s definitely not pointless when we are walking with God.
Let’s cry out to God, declaring that this hard time will be a holy time, a close-to-God time. And let’s choose to believe that, even in these places, good is happening. Because wherever God is, good is always working.
Jesus, I don’t understand some of my circumstances, and I do want things to change. But instead of focusing on what needs to change, I want to focus on depending on You in the process. Your Word says You will overcome, so I’m choosing to believe that You will do that at the just-¬right time. I’m declaring that this unsettling time will be a holy time, a close-to-You time. Thank You for always being close to me. Today I make a new commitment to depend on You daily.
In Your name, amen.
Excerpted with permission from Come Close to Jesus by Lysa TerKeurst, copyright Lysa Terkeurst Florida LLC.
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Your Turn
Have you been waiting for your life to settle down so you can finally feel peace and happiness? What if instead you chose to rest in the holiness of right now, right in the thick of fear, uncertainty, discomfort, and waiting? Stick close to Jesus! ~ Devotionals Daily
