“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” – John 16:33 (NASB)
Today again our verse has the word “take courage.’ Because we live in a world that is hostile toward God and does not believe in Jesus as Savior and Lord we do need to bolster our spirit and strengthen our hearts with faith believing. But we do so not on our own or in our own might. We don’t have the capacity to be courageous in the face of tribulations from the world. In the New Testament, sometimes the word translated ‘take courage’ can be rendered ‘Be of good cheer.’ Another version translates it as ‘take heart.’ How can we do this? By trusting Jesus’ last phrase in this verse, “I have overcome the world.” He is the same ‘I’ that calmed their fears when he came toward his disciples walking on the surface of a stormy lake. The essential ground for our endurance in persecution is the victory of Jesus over the world. It is by His death, that He, rendered the world’s opposition null and void. While the world continues to attack believers, they are harmless to us, for Christ’s victory has already accomplished a marvelous defeat of the whole evil rebellious system.
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Esengo Mingi 