Light Over Darkness
“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, ESV
When I read this portion of John’s Gospel, telling us we will have tribulation in the world, I think of that old country hit song from the 1970s with the catchy lyrics:
I beg your pardon
I never promised you a rose garden
Along with the sunshine
There's gotta be a little rain sometime[i]
Those who believe God will bring sunshine without rain, joy without sorrow or peace without tribulation set themselves up for a lifetime of disappointment. We read in John’s Gospel that, in Jesus, we may have peace. God does not promise that because we are Christians, because we believe Jesus is “the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6) that everything in life will be easy, or even fair. Jesus tells us instead that we will have tribulation. We will not be able to handle the pain or suffering we encounter in our lifetime by our own strength, but will have to depend on God’s strength and power to give us peace. It is through our faith in God that we are encouraged and we draw our strength to make it through the darkest of times in life.
Harold Kushner, American Rabbi and author, writes extensively about how we deal with bad things and disappointments in life, and where God is in the midst of those things. He says, “God is the light shining in the midst of darkness, not to deny that there is darkness in the world but to reassure us that we do not have to be afraid of the darkness because darkness will always yield to light.”[ii] When you next experience a time of darkness in your life, remember this promise of God to be with us and give us peace, not to prevent tribulation, but to walk with you through the darkness of tribulation and into the light. Turn to Him, invite Him in, for He has overcome the power of all darkness with the light of Christ.
A Prayer
Almighty God, you have poured upon us the new light of your incarnate Word: Grant that this light, enkindled in our hearts, may shine forth in our lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
The Book of Common Prayer, p. 213
[i] I Never Promised You a Rose Garden, Lyrics by Joe South, Recorded by Lynn Anderson, 1970, Columbia Records.
[ii] Harold S. Kushner (2006). “Overcoming Life's Disappointments”, p.15, Anchor.
