THINK TOGETHER
What are some of the hard things in life that you have to live with?
READ TOGETHER
On the night before he died on the cross Jesus spoke these words to his disciples. Words that must have been very hard to hear but also words that should bring us great comfort. Here’s what he said:
John 16:33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.
What did you list as some of the hardest things in this world? Sickness? Mean people? Disappointments? Or maybe there’s something hard that your family is going through together.
Jesus tells us that this world is full of “tribulation.” Do you know what “tribulation” means? It means troubles. It’s your mom and dad’s job to protect you from trouble. The adults who love you watch out for you and try to keep you from being hurt on the inside and on the outside. And that’s a great thing.
But the truth is that no one can protect us from all the troubles that may come. No one can stop all the sickness, and all the bullies, and all the mistakes, and all the dangers that are in the world. And when Jesus says “in this life you WILL HAVE tribulation” he is letting us know that even he won’t stop all the bad things from happening to us.
This is very important for you to know as you grow up. Many Christians think that Jesus’ job is to make sure that we don’t have any troubles. And then when hard things come, they begin to doubt Jesus and his love. But Jesus didn’t promise us a life without troubles. He promised us a life beyond this life. An eternal life. A life where all the troubles have been overcome (defeated) by him and his love.
One day we will go to be with Jesus and there will be no more troubles. No more sadness, or sickness, or failures, or disappointments. Just peace.
And until that day, here in this world, when the troubles come, Jesus is teaching us to trust him more and more. He wants us to find a peace and happiness inside our hearts that comes when we know that no matter how hard things get, God will always love us no matter what, and that, one day, God will rescue us from all the troubles of this world and he will fix everything and make everything sad happy again.
Because of Jesus we know that we will go to be with God where there are no more troubles.
With Jesus we can have peace in our hearts knowing he always loves us and will rescue us.
DO SOMETHING TOGETHER
Watch a movie with a happy ending where everything turns out right – like this one from Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Talk about how Jesus will bring the ultimate ending to all things bad when he overcomes the world once and for all.
PRAY TOGETHER
Jesus,
You have overcome all the troubles of this world. I know you will be with me no matter what troubles I face. Help me feel your peace in my heart today.
Amen.
***
To see today’s post from the TLIC Daily blog –> Click Here
TLICfamily 