We all want to hear that things are going to be alright.  We’re riveted by stories coming out of Ukraine as we watch the David and Goliath battle.  The dark threat of world war shadows the horizon as world powers take sides.  Shuddering at the impact this could have, we just want our own daily lives to be safe and comfortable.  We want to be assured that our schools and apartment buildings won’t be destroyed.  Part of what adds to our anxiety is that the tear streaked face of a mother sheltering in her basement with her baby while missiles fall looks like us.  This time the battlefield isn’t a desert, it’s cities that look like ours.  The scared, tearful little boy escaping the war who had to leave his dad behind to fight looks like one of our children.  The sneaking fear that enters our heads is, “It could be us.”

As much as we’d like to, we don’t have any guarantee of comfort and safety.  We actually have the opposite guarantee.  We’ve been promised trouble as long as we live on this earth.  Yet we’ve been given the secret to peace and courage in the face of our troubles.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”  Another translation reads, “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”  Words of Jesus recorded in John 16:33

Our peace and courage don’t depend on what’s happening.  Instead, we entrust our lives to God knowing that our souls are safe in his hands whatever happens.  He will have the last word because he has already won the battle with evil and eventually we will share his victory.  There are no promises of safety and comfort for our bodies, but there are eternal promises of safety and comfort for our eternal souls.  BTW, it isn’t wrong to desire peace and safety.  This is what we’re made for and what God intends to give to us, but we may not experience it completely until the next life.

What exactly do we need to do to receive God’s good promises of peace and courage in our hearts?   How do we respond so that his promises come true in our lives?  Scripture explains how to receive these promises by giving us examples of real men and women who received God’s promises.

“And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.  It was by faith that Noah built a large boat to save his family from the flood. He obeyed God, who warned him about things that had never happened before. By his faith, Noah condemned the rest of the world, and he received the righteousness that comes by faith.”  Excerpts from Hebrews 11

True faith is always followed by obedience.  Noah chose to believe the unheard of because God said it.  I want to be like Noah and accept God’s word even if it doesn’t make sense to me.  Then Noah did what God asked of him and in so doing God spared him and his family from destruction.  I know when I obey, God always blesses me in some way.

“It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise. Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God.”

Abraham left everything he knew because God told him to leave in order to get a new home God promised him.  I want to step out of my comfort zone when God asks me to do something hard.  I know that growth happens outside my comfort zone.  Even when Abraham got to the new home, he still trusted God’s promise for an even better eternal home.  No matter how good the outcome of our obedience, there is still something even better awaiting us in the next life.  And when things don’t turn out as we hoped, there is the comfort that something better is awaiting us.

“It was by faith that even Sarah was able to have a child, though she was barren and was too old. She believed that God would keep his promise. And so a whole nation came from this one man who was as good as dead. . .”  Hebrews 11:6-12

Sarah had yearned for a baby her whole life.  Now she was not only infertile but old as was her husband.  How could she conceive?  She believed God would keep his promise.  She found out that our trust in God’s good promises allows them to come true in our own lives.  Often it’s hard to hold onto God’s promise.  How can we be peaceful and courageous in bad circumstances?  We cling to God for dear life.  We trust that God always wins and he makes us eternal winners, too.

Let’s trust God and then obey just like Noah, Abraham, and Sarah . . . one decision at a time, taking one more step in the right direction in spite of pressure to do otherwise.

Let’s be brave.  We’re on the winning side!

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”  Another translation reads, “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”  Words of Jesus recorded in John 16:33