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.” - John 16:33

Recite using the acronym:

I H S T T T Y , T I M Y M H P . I T W Y W H T . B T H ; I H O T W . JOHN 16:33

Read Full Passage HERE

Dive Deeper:

There is peace found in the simple truth that Christ has conquered the brokenness of this world and sins of our hearts and that He is in control. We can let go of the control we desire over our circumstances and give that control over to God, who alone is equipped to care for us.

The words we find here in John 16 were spoken from Jesus to His disciples shortly before His betrayal, arrest, and death on the cross. Just a couple of verses before, Jesus predicted that they would scatter from Him when his tribulation came. But He states that He is not alone but rather accompanied by the Father. Though these words were spoken to the disciples, these truths remain for us. Though we falter and scatter from Christ when things get difficult, He reminds us of His authority and His nearness to us. We are in Christ. That means we are with Him in His victory also. We are no longer overtaken by the world, fear, sin, or tribulation but are victorious in Christ as he has overcome the world. Charles Spurgeon, in his sermon “Sweet Peace for Tried Believers” on this passage, once imagined Jesus saying the following to His disciples: ​​“I have myself,” says Jesus, “overcome for you that you may overcome in me. Now, go to the fight, to rout the already worsted enemy, and triumph over a serpent whose head I have already broken.”

Even when you cut off a serpent’s head, it still can bite and writhe for hours after being killed. Likewise, even though the head of sin and death have been cut off through Christ’s victory for a short time before the return of Christ, we are still experiencing the effect of its bite. We must now rout out the poison that has made its way into our blood and avoid the last attempts of destruction from our enemy. Since Christ is the one who overcame the world, He is ultimately our solution to accomplish the same. We can’t do it on our own, we can’t protect ourselves from the attacks of our adversary, and we definitely don’t have the power to heal ourselves from the deathly venom within. We must surrender daily to Christ, our gracious Healer and faithful Protector. 

So, through Jesus’ conversation with His disciples, he also speaks to us today. That, although there won’t be peace around us, we can have abundant peace inwardly. How are we supposed to obtain this peace? Through the victory of Christ, who overcame the world through His life, death, and resurrection. Jesus is victorious. He defeated the world and even put death to death. Through Him, we are overcomers because Jesus’ victory is now our victory. 

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