Verse of the Day - John 16:33

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.
~ John 16:33 (NLT)

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I was struck to the heart this week about a horrific story of two teens being brutally murdered in Northern California after their prom date last Saturday night. Two small rural towns were struck to the core from this brutality (they each lived in a different town), and I read it with such sadness. But then, to add misery upon misery, tradegy struck the girl's family when the slain girl's older brother was involved in a serious car accident while trying to get home from UC Berkeley after hearing the news of his sister. He lay in critical condition for two days, and passed away yesterday. When I read the news of his death, my mouth just dropped open, and my heart cried out to God for these parents! Two children dead in one week?!? I just could not imagine the pain and suffering they are going through from their losses under such heinous and tragic circumstances.

I prayed for these parents yesterday afternoon. I wondered what in the world a person could say to them following such tragedy. I wondered and asked God if they knew Him. If they didn't, what could a believer in Jesus say to them? Could anyone say anything about a loving God that could be well-received? When your daughter has just been murdered and your son has also died from a car accident, how can the words 'God loves you' have any meaning?!?

I thought of Job in the Old Testament, and how he lost his children in an instant to tragedy. He was able to cling to God in the midst of such terrible trials. But he knew God. He had a relationship with God. And He trusted God.

What about those who don't? How can we possibly communicate to them that God loves them, and that there is peace in Jesus in spite of the trials and tribulations we face?

Well, all I can say is that it's a spiritual thing that the Holy Spirit must communicate to them. If you are a Christ follower, you have experienced the peace from the Lord Jesus that He talks about in this verse. You've had hard times, and come through the fire of trials with your hand in His. And because of His resurrection from the dead, we have hope that through faith in Him, we aren't chained forever to this world of death and destruction either. This life of sadness and depression and violence is not all there is to our existence, because He has overcome the world! But how can we tell someone else that who doesn't know Him?

He experience brutality beyond belief in this life so that we wouldn't have to experience that brutality for eternity in hell. We're not exempt from hell here on earth, as that poor family experienced this week, because of sin's reign and destruction. That has been this world's lot since man rebelled against God in the Garden of Eden. But God did love us enough to make a way of escape, to rescue us with His nail-scarred hand from ourselves. He is a loving God, and evil circumstances don't negate that love. But that can be hard to understand when while your daughter's killer is being arraigned in court, the doctor tells you that your son didn't pull through the accident and is dead.

Sometimes, all we as lovers of God can do when tragedy strikes others is to love them. Be there with them. Hold their hand. Cry with them. Hug them tightly. Let the Holy Spirit guide your words, because perhaps very few are needed.

And maybe you're the one who's going through hell on earth right now. I pray that the Spirit of God can break through your sorrow and put a salve on your bleeding heart. Jesus certainly knows all you're going through. He's been there...and back again.
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/\book_id=29&chapter=53&version=31&context=chapter

No one else has been "to hell and back" but Jesus. That's why He can say I have overcome the world. He's the one who defeated the evil one. He's the one who defied and defeated the power of death. He's the one who took our punishment for our sins. He's the one. If we don't cling to Him, who else can we turn to?

Jesus is the one and only. I pray He is your one and only, and that you're able to show His love with those who are suffering.

Love,
Joelene