Jesus said, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
We would be wise to consider these words spoken by Jesus to His disciples, bearing in mind that in this life, we will have tribulation, trials, difficulties, opposition, sorrow, and sometimes even depression. We will be falsely accused, even slandered, yet we can be of good cheer because of the promise of God that no matter how dark the days may become, we are going to make it to the finish line. Remember, Jesus has already won the victory for us!
Although victory is assured, we are not exempt from fighting the battle that is currently before us. We are guaranteed that at the end of this life, we are going to sit with Jesus, ruling and reigning with him. We are going to have a mansion in glory and walk on streets of gold. We will stand before the throne of God, and we will hear him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in a few things, so I will make you ruler over many things. Enter now into the joy of the Lord!” (see Matthew 25:21). But we still have battles to fight.
One of the reasons we have tribulation in this world is because it is often the only way people around us will ever know that God is real. You and I have to walk through the same fire, the same flood, the same difficult days as everybody else. However, the difference is that we have an inner source of strength that will carry us through and give us a song.
The psalmist David wrote, “He also brought me up out of a horrible pit … and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps. He has put a new song in my mouth” (Psalm 40:2-3).
Carter Conlon joined the pastoral staff of Times Square Church in 1994 at the invitation of the founding pastor, David Wilkerson, and was appointed Senior Pastor in 2001.