SEP 1

John 16:33
Memorise I John 5:4
“…be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”

Sometimes, the Christian journey can get tiring. Trials and testings come our way, and we grow weary as we face difficulties and struggles. Doubt and discontentment start to creep in, and sometimes we just want to throw our hands in the air in despair and exclaim, “Why is it so hard to be a Christian?!”

Should this be the attitude of a true Christian? No doubt we will face difficulties and trials, but do we despair as if we have no hope? Think for a moment about our Lord Jesus Christ. He faced the greatest difficulty of all time – He was to go to the cross, bearing the weight of the sin of the world on His shoulders. He knew full well what it was that awaited Him – the pain and torment, not just physically, but more so spiritually. And yet He accepted it and faced it, armed with the knowledge that He would rise again on the third day, victorious over the grave.

With this same knowledge and conviction, Jesus was thus able to offer much comfort to the disciples. Yes, much tribulation awaited them – almost all of them would go on to die a martyr’s death at the hands of cruel persecutors. But they were commanded to “be of good cheer”! Why and how could they be cheerful in the midst of such affliction? Simply based on the assurance from Christ that “I have overcome the world”. Not an uncertain “I may overcome” or a future but as yet unfulfilled promise that “I will overcome” – it was a confident pronouncement of fact, Jesus has already overcome! Though the battle with worldliness and sin is an ongoing one, we know that through the death and resurrection of Christ the victory ultimately belongs to God and those who are on His side.

Dear teen, are you similarly assured of this fact? Are you fully convicted that Christ has already won the battle against sin? If so, why then are you still faithless and doubting when trials come your way? Christ’s assurance should always ring true in your heart – no trial should ever rob you of your peace and joy in God, for you know that, through God’s help, you will be able to overcome it. Dear teen, may you never fear trials or despair in the midst of difficulties, but instead take heart in the knowledge that the victory has already been won.

Thought: “Faith is the victory! O, glorious victory that overcomes the world!”
Prayer: Lord, grant me spiritual sight to see that the battle is already won.