On one level or another, we are always aware of our neediness as a people

Take Heart! I Have Overcome the World

On one level or another, we are always aware that we are a needy people, but in times of relative calm, comfort and prosperity, that awareness is not so acute as it is when things seem to pile up on us. For our church family, this seems to be such a time. A significant number of our friends are struggling with a significant variety of issues; grief, fear of an uncertain future, life changes, hurt, confusion and the simple feelings of helplessness and frustration that descend at the recognition of one simple truth; life can be more than any of us can handle alone. Still, there is comfort in knowing that the presence of struggles generally as well as the unique intensity of our personal struggles are not unknown by God.

“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” - John 16:33

These were the final teaching words of the Upper Room discourse, a series of encouraging sayings Jesus uttered to His Apostles in the hours before His arrest and subsequent crucifixion. The first gesture of the evening came when Jesus took the role of a servant and began to wash the feet of His disciples. This was a vivid way of calling them to be servants even as they would be called upon to lead and establish the early church. Once that gesture was completed, He began to teach them. All of the teachings in the Upper Room that night were geared toward preparing the disciples not only for the horrors of the immediate future, but also for the troubles they would encounter for the rest of their earthly ministries.

Jesus reminded His closest men of His unity with the Father even as He reassured them of the home in heaven He was going to prepare for them. He reminded them that He is ”the Way, the Truth and the Life”, lest their doubts begin to overwhelm them. He promised to send a Comforter, the Holy Spirit, to come alongside them whenever they needed to be encouraged, empowered or reminded of the words He had spoken over the course of His time with them. Even though it was Jesus Himself that would endure an unimaginable ordeal over the course of the next several hours, His thoughts were on His disciples.

Jesus knew that there were tough times ahead, when, for a little while, they would see Him no more. He knew the disciples would suffer because of their loyal service to Him, and except for Peter and John, we lose track of the Twelve very quickly in the history of the infant church. But ancient church traditions confirm that the Apostles lived out the remainder of their lives “on task”, preaching the Gospel. Those same reliable traditions tell us that most of them paid the ultimate price for their loyalty.

In addition, Jesus never failed to acknowledge the suffering that is simply a part of the human condition, and all of the promises of a divine presence with us now and of heaven to come continue to be strong promises that raise us up in our own hours of crisis. Jesus knew that we would have grief, and as He comforted them, He was not unaware of the needs of His disciples through the ages.

Peter was there that night, a central figure in fact, but his presence on that occasion was not his finest hour. When Jesus announced the ordeal that lay ahead, Peter felt that he was man enough himself to stop it. Jesus told Peter that he would fall, even that he would deny knowing His Lord. Perhaps, it was in a futile attempt to prove that he was a better man than Jesus thought he was that Peter drew a sword, severing a man’s ear. But ultimately, Peter stumbled just as Jesus said that he would. He denied his Lord and remembering Jesus’ words, he was reduced to bitter tears. Eventually, however, other words Jesus had spoken came to Peter’s mind. Jesus had said:

"Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers. - Luke 22:31,32

At first glance, we might think that these “brothers” Jesus had in mind were Peter’s fellow- Apostles, but Peter also became one of scripture’s most notable comforters to people in crisis. The epistles that bear his name are filled with exhortations for God’s people to “hang in there” when they are suffering. Interestingly, Peter’s premise for calling all believers to endure hardship is quite akin to Jesus’ premise in the Upper Room; there are promises to cling to for the people of God and those promises are true:

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. – 2 Peter 1:3, 4