Hey guys, so we will have trouble...

Today I decided to get my daily bread from a kids Bible.  The passage spoke about Jesus knowing what was about to happen.  This powerful thing that was required in order for breakthrough to happen for all of us.  Jesus was aware of what He needed to do.  He was also aware of the enemy’s tactics.  Yet in the middle of it all, instead of being distracted or overcome with grief at the imminent betrayal, he remained focused.  He knew that in times of trouble we must remained focused, and our mission must not change.  

Truth: Whenever God is up to something amazing, there the devil is also.  The enemy’s plans to thwart and distract are stronger than ever when there’s something powerful taking place.  

Through the past week I’ve spent more time at hospitals and doctor’s offices than I have spent outside of hospitals and doctor’s offices.  Ironically, this came at the same as our church celebration service and kick off of the new church plant.  My children are going to be fine.  They will thrive and live well, but just have a few more challenges to overcome while doing so.  But the enemy’s tactics were full on.  Blow after blow I became shocked.  “Not another thing.  You’ve got to be kidding me.” “God how much more can one person be responsible for?” “The mound is high Lord and yet more keeps adding.” 

Truth: Sometimes the battle is simply taking our eyes off what the enemy has got brewing and onto what Jesus is doing.

Truth: Sometimes we have to reset our minds to focus on the “Jesus part” instead of the “satan part.” Monday I spent the majority of my morning holding down one of my daughters while she was screaming so that a team of people could come in and get an IV started. As I was laying on her chest, my mouth next to her ear, I told her “You are an overcomer.  You will overcome.  You will be stronger than ever before.” After we left, in the car ride home I told her that every single person is asked to walk through something difficult.  Jesus legimately asks us to endure hard things.  He doesn’t ever promise he will relieve us from those situations, rather he simply says, “I am with you.” 

My husband went with a few others to Afghanistan a few years ago where persecution meant the need for the underground church.  He whispered with other believers in a discrete, undisclosed location.  Here, persecution meant your life for your faith. 

2 Timothy 3:12 says Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. A few things stick out to me.  First, the word ALL.  All of us, all inclusive, we all will.  Second, the word persecution.  I visualized persecution as it was in Afghanistan.  I would read the passage and thank the Lord that we live in a free country, free to choose our faith or lack thereof.  The more I see people struggle through disease and life-threatening illness, dear friends and family fighting for their lives, the more I believe that persecution in America exists but just looks differently.  

Persecution means hostility, ill treatment because of race or political or religious beliefs. Another definition means persistent annoyance or harassment.  You may have thought about persecution in the same frame of reference as I have.  The enemy that comes to steal, kill, and destroy, knows that at least for now, this country allows us religious freedom. Currently, that cannot be a tactic he can use.  I’d say cancer is a persistent annoyance, a continual harassment.  This is certainly something he uses.  This, and other ailments.  In the book of Job we see the enemy use calamity, loss, even physical pain and illness as a tactic.  We even see Job lose his entire family.  What a huge hit, what a massive loss, what terrible heartache, what deep pain.  What persecution.  

I just attended a funeral this week of someone who loved others so well and loved the Lord so much and yet endured such great pain and longsuffering.  Her family cared for her daily, every single need, even spoon feeding her meals.  Every daily task was a struggle.  Persistent annoyance, not being able to be self-sufficient, not being able to do anything on your own.  How could this not be persecution, just in an unassuming form? 

Do we get to have authority on this earth to carry out the Lord’s will? Yes, we can tap into that power and authority the Lord gives us.  

Truth: Even when it looks like a loss on earth, it can still be a win in heaven.  Our mind cannot grasp that sometimes.  We have to remember that we are living for the eternal gains, not the earthly losses.  

This is not a matter of faith, it’s not a matter of naming it and claiming it.  We cannot choose what the enemy throws at us.  We get to choose our response to it.  In the land of freedom and plenty, it is no wonder he uses things like disease and illness.  We can pray and pray (the Bible says to never stop) and yet that calamity can remain.  We may not understand it.  We may not make sense of it.  We cannot wrap our minds around it.  But Jesus. But Jesus tells his disciples in John 16:33 “I have told you these things, (he tells them of persecution and that he is leaving but will give them an advocate) so that in me you may have peace (not peace from the situation, but peace through Jesus).  In this world you WILL have trouble.  But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

I have become accustomed to trouble in this world.  My heart aches for those that are in the fight of their earthly lives.  I have lost a father to cancer (or trouble as the verse above calls it).  I have a nephew battling cancer.  I have a friend fighting as well.  And this week we just said goodbye to a dear sweet woman who also battled a terrible disease. I don’t think any of us are ready to endure trouble.  How do we prepare for that? Maybe we’ve passed over this passage before.   Maybe we’ve associated easy with good and hard with bad.  I’ll be honest that I haven’t felt prepared for life’s struggles.  I didn’t realize I would walk through such hardship.  Jesus, in his wisdom and foreknowledge was trying to prepare us in this passage for what he knew we would inevitably all walk through.  We may not know the how or the what or the when.  We know the who.  Although not specifically, we do know the what.  We ALL will have TROUBLE.  

Truth: We may not always have situational peace (We may be overwhelmed, in a state of shock etc) but we can have the peace that is constant, peace in Jesus.  

This peace says that no matter what the trouble is that I will walk through, you are my right hand. He says in Isaiah 41:13 “For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand.  (I will walk through this with you) and I say to you, ‘Do not fear. I will help you.”  

Truth: His help comes in the form of comradery.  

We often expect that help to look like taking us out of the current situation.  (We want situational peace or relief from the current situation.) When actually, it most often means I will help you by being with you when you endure the “trouble.”  When we feel discouraged from another blow, we are to take heart, or be encouraged because HE has overcome the world.  When the enemy uses all tactics possible, he should not be able to mess with our peace. Our peace is between us and Jesus. This is hands off, a no enemy territory. Likewise, what we decide about our situation is a no enemy territory.  This is our choice.  Trouble, persecution, adversity, these are to be expected.  We will walk through them all.  BUT we can have peace (irrevocable, untouchable, protected from the enemy peace) knowing He has overcome the 

world.  

Truth: Enemy, you got nothing on me and Jesus