Present with God: In my Tribulation

"I have said these things to you; that you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world. -John 16:33

Tribulation is our inner realization that this world has been broken by sin and that things simply aren't the way that they were meant to be.

Tribulation is the ache you feel at the end of you "shouldn't" statements. Every time you have that sense that something isn't how it's supposed to be: that's tribulation. Kids shouldn't murder other kids. Hate shouldn't be easier than love. It shouldn't be this hard to raise a good kid. I shouldn't have to deal with this diagnosis. It shouldn't be this hard to stay in love with the person you married. My body shouldn't feel this way. People shouldn't be killed just for saying they love Jesus.

But Jesus makes two promises to us in this verse. He promises us that we will have tribulation. This is encouraging because it reminds us that we aren't so far gone that we don't notice that something isn't right. If there wasn't still a spark of the divine inside of us, then we wouldn't even notice the 'shouldn'ts' in our world.

But the second promise is that Jesus is victorious over all the brokenness in our world. Jesus' resurrection victory demonstrates his power over sin and death and all the other things that have been scarred in our world. By making ourselves present with him, we receive the comfort for our current trials, the hope for a future victory and the power to join him in his overcoming.

Don't be surprised when your ache for something better seems overwhelming. You were made to be a creature of beauty and power and peace and joy. Sin and all its scarring consequences will seek to rob you of that identity for which God made you.

By making ourselves present with God, we can connect to what is truest about ourselves. In our times of intentional connection with him, we see that we are not defined by our brokenness or our suffering, we are defined by what he made us to be and what Jesus promises, by his victory, we will be again.

Be Present with God

Make some time to be present with God. Share with God the 'shouldn'ts' that you experience in your life. Let him encourage you that this isn't the way he intends for the world to be. Boldly claim the victory that has been promised you because of the sacrifice of Jesus. Thank him for keeping the spark of divinity alive in you. Thank him for how he has delivered you through your tribulation and trust in him to continue to do so. Thank him for the way he has made you aware of his presence during this time.