Week Eight Blog for the Rooted Bible Study. Learn more about Rooted here.
“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
As I began this study I was hoping I would find a solution to all my problems. I was hoping I could figure out a way to make the bad days not happen. I really wanted some new thing to tell you to help you fix all the things you wanted to fix. But I didn’t find that. What I found was this: Jesus is enough.
- Jesus is enough even when we don’t know what to do
- Jesus is enough when we pull away because we are humans, then wonder where He is
- Jesus is enough when we face the uncertainties of life
- Jesus is enough to sustain us despite the deserts of life
- Jesus is enough when we wonder why our day is going to bad
- Jesus is enough for anything.
As I dug into this study I was pointed back to the beauty of God, His Word, and the simplicity of His plan. God is perfect and His ways are so far above ours we can’t begin to understand all He is. While I didn’t come up with a solution to fix all my bad habits, wrong attitudes, sufferings, and discouragements, I did grasp onto a new hope. My faith and hope in the simple fact that Jesus is enough no matter what was greatly strengthened. I know I will still face days that drive me nuts, heartaches that tempt to break me, and natural tendencies I wish were gone. However, I also know I can look at them in a different way. I can remember that even though it is hard, God is working out a perfect plan. Just as He worked out a perfect plan for my salvation, I can trust Him with my daily life.
He tells us we will have tribulation, but He brings peace. It is our choice if we want to step into this promise by choosing Jesus, or if we want to follow our natural tendencies wherever they lead. I learned that just because dwelling on lies satan sends my way isn’t viewed as a huge sin, it still pulls me away from all the promises I can grab ahold of. I know my trigger is dwelling on lies, that is what pulls me away from trust and hope in Jesus. I always knew I had hope and peace because of Jesus, but I didn’t know I had to choose to take hold of it. God extends it to each one of us, we make the choice to take it. God still loves us and helps us when we make mistakes, but we may not be reaping the full benefits of peace when we choose to give into our natural tendencies.
I still don’t know how to pull myself out of really bad days. Or even weeks of discouragement. But instead of dwelling on it and wondering why Jesus power isn’t helping me, I will choose to trust that God has a plan for this stage.
Jesus is enough because He says He is enough. Jesus’s power is there for us to live an overcoming life. Sometimes living an overcoming life means simply coming back to Him in repentance over and over on those bad days. Maybe it means a journey through a desert of wondering, waiting, crying, and searching but in the end you see fruit from your time there. Maybe it means you keep asking Him to guide you and teach you His ways. Living an overcoming life doesn’t mean being perfect, it means pressing on amidst the hurts, selfishness, failures, worries, questions, and pressing into Jesus trusting He will help. It means knowing that God has a plan and has us on a journey to accomplish that plan. It means knowing that God’s ways are so far above our own we wont fully ever understand how He works. It means being at peace with the fact that we wont have all our questions answered here on earth– but we can trust and hope anyway. Living an overcoming life means we know we are not good people, but because of Jesus we are made worthy. It means knowing that we need Him every single second of the day. It means rising up out of guilt and condemnation and stepping into grace through forgiveness and Jesus blood. It means standing strong against satan’s attacks telling us we will never be good enough. It means doing the hard work to choose Jesus every single second.
This is hope. Hope in knowing our overcoming life is a journey that Jesus is guiding. It is hope knowing that He will teach us all things. It is hope that all the suffering and tribulation we face here on earth is NOTHING compared to the glory awaiting us one day. Jesus is the only hope we need. I pray you can rest in Him today. I pray you can view your circumstances with the knowledge that even if they don’t make sense, they are working in your favor. I pray we can all encourage each other to keep going, push on, and fight the good fight for Jesus Christ. He is enough, He is our everything.
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