These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. John 16:33
My sister Sarah has a daughter named Tori, who at the time this story took place, was just over a year old. She could walk, but she couldn’t say any intelligible words. And she followed her mama everywhere. Sarah walked out the back of the auditorium after a church service one Sunday to take care of something in the kitchen. It took only a split second for Tori to notice she was gone before she ran after her crying. I’m sure she thought Sarah was leaving her forever, even though she had just briefly stepped out. I happened to be walking back into the auditorium at the same time, so I picked Tori up and said, “It’s okay. Mama’s coming back.” That confirmation was all she needed to calm her cries and put her at ease. In a matter of seconds, she was no longer crying, and she was distracted by something on my shirt. What an encouragement it was to her to hear that she was not going to be left all alone, and that her mama was coming back.
Dear friend, Christ did the same for us. Jesus went back to Heaven mere weeks after His resurrection, and sometimes that is a scary thing for Christians living in an anti-Christ world. Sometimes it feels like we have been abandoned and that we are all alone. But we need not be afraid. Essentially Jesus says the same thing to us that I said to my niece Tori when her mama left. He says, “It’s okay. I’m coming back.” There is such peace in knowing that we are not alone and that our Saviour is coming back for us. Sure, there will be things in this life that we consider to be unpleasant. He tells us in John 16 that we will have tribulation. No one in their right mind would beg for that, or even welcome it. We want life to be as easy as possible. But when it’s not, and when you feel like you have been left to try to make it alone, we can comfort ourselves with the thought that Jesus is coming back. “It’s okay, child,” He tells us through His Word, “Not only are you not alone. I know every situation you go through, I can see exactly where you are, and I’m right around the corner.”
He may wait for another 100 years, or He may come back in 10 minutes. We have no promise of when that will be, but we do have the promise that it will take place. What a day that will be!
Read also: John 16:25-33
Quote of the day: “Bible teaching about the Second Coming of Christ was thought of as ‘doomsday’ preaching. But not anymore. It is the only ray of hope that shines as an ever-brightening beam in a darkening world.” – Billy Graham