UPDATED Today’s AMI QT Devotional, provided by Pastor Doug Tritton, was first posted on September 22, 2016. A graduate of University of Pennsylvania (BA) and Gordon Conwell Seminary (M.Div.), Doug is the Lead Pastor of the UC site of Grace Covenant Church in Philadelphia.
Devotional Thought for This Morning
“When We Feel Overwhelmed”
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.”
There will be many, many times in life when we will feel overwhelmed. Right now, with a new baby plus work and seminary, I have been feeling quite overwhelmed at times.* So how do we cope when we feel like this? How can we persevere through these feelings of just being in over our heads?
Jesus was one who should have been very overwhelmed. He had a rigorous preaching calendar, traveling from town to town to teach in various synagogues; plus, He was being called on constantly to heal people afflicted with various maladies. And through it all, He stayed focused on His primary mission—to go to the cross and die. Certainly that seems like an overwhelming life!
In this passage, Jesus is speaking to His disciples for the last time the night before the crucifixion. They are worried, and rightly so, since Jesus just told them that He is leaving them! What are they to do? And what are we to do?
Jesus says, “Take heart.” How do we take heart? We know that He overcame the world; this means that we likewise can overcome the world through Him, through His victory. When those feelings of being overwhelmed fill our minds, we can find hope and peace through the One who overcame it all. He overcame so that we can overcome. Let’s trust in Him, our overcoming Savior!
*Editor’s note: Now Pastor Doug, with one more kid at home, is in full-time ministry with a congregation to serve and a staff to manage, and has been working on his ordination with an “unnecessarily” demanding AMI Teaching Pastor.
Prayer: Lord, thank You for overcoming the world. I know the battle is already won and You are victorious. Help me to stand in Your victory and not let the world overwhelm me. Let Your strength be given to me so that I may persevere through the tribulations this world throws at me. Amen.
Bible Reading for Today: 1 Chronicles 12
Lunch Break Study
Read 1 John 5:4-5: For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
Questions to Consider
- Who overcomes the world?
- Why is faith the victory that overcame the world?
- In what ways are you lacking faith that Jesus can overcome the tribulations in your life?
Notes
- Those who have been born of God overcome the world. The passage then clarifies this by saying that the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God overcomes the world. So we can see that believing in Jesus causes us to be born of God and thus enables us to overcome the world.
- Jesus is the victorious one. Through Jesus’ victory, faith is possible. Thus, faith is the victory that enables us to take part in this overcoming victory that Jesus accomplished. Overcoming the world is only possible through faith in Jesus, the One who overcame for us!
- Take time to reflect on this question. Is Jesus your victory in every area of your life, or only some areas? Jesus’ victory is meant to be experienced in every sphere of our lives.
Evening Reflection
Take time to reflect on the victory Jesus accomplished on the cross and through His resurrection. Now reflect on the tribulations you may be facing in your life, the things causing you to feel overwhelmed. Ask Jesus to help you to be victorious in those areas you are feeling overwhelmed.