Jesus said, “Everything I have taught you is so that the peace which is in Me will be in you and will give you great confidence as you rest in Me. In this world you will have trouble [tribulation, sufferings, difficulties, sorrows, trials] but take heart [be courageous, be of good cheer] I have overcome the world!” John 16:33
Number one TRUTH here is, no matter what you are going through, no matter what storm is ravaging against your heart, no matter what words have been spoken over you, His peace has been given to you. A peace that is REALITY whether you feel it or not.
Jesus also said, “Do not let your heart be troubled.” John 14:1
Trouble will come, but we are told by our Savior to not let it get into our heart.
How? Obedience releases the anointing. The anointing brings us perfect comfort. The anointing is released by the Holy Spirit.
“I will pray to the Father and He will give you another Comforter that He may live with you forever. The Spirit of Truth, whom you know. He will never leave you…you know Him intimately because He remains in you and will live inside you.” John 14:16-17
Obedience is just position. Position yourself -your believing- under the Truth. What is your believing heart in agreement with? What have you attached to your believing center? Jesus wants your agreement with His truth. The Holy Spirit is the One who unveils every truth within you.
The etymology of comfort might help you understand the beautiful role of the powerful Person of the Holy Spirit. COM means “with” and FORT (fortis) means “strength”. His comfort positions us “in courage” allowing us to be courageous in the midst of trouble. We often think of comfort as a mother holding her troubled child, and He does this, but He also forms a fortress around you of truth to keep the gift of peace ruling the atmosphere of your heart.
If you are finding yourself suffering from the same battles the world is suffering it might be time for a deeper dive with the Holy Spirit. He is an expert at comforting us in the deep places. There is suffering in anger, rejection, sin, seeking the glory of men, separation, grief, anxiety, pain, lack and persecution but we have an answer for all of these in the word of God. We have a fortress of promises that allow us to go through the trouble positioned under peace and release our suffering. Our position is important.
“He is the God of endless comfort. He always comes alongside us to comfort us.” --2 Corinthians 1:3-4
The Comforter brings us into an awareness of the fortress of truth we have available. His counsel brings us comfort and His comfort brings us perfect counsel. He fortifies us with truth. His truth brings us true well-being (think about Jesus in the boat asleep while the storm raged around Him).
Truth dissolves isolation.
Distress is silenced.
We are translated into a mind-set and an identity where what is true is more real than what is seen, felt, or heard.
Are difficulties, troubles, sorrows, sufferings etc. a sign of failure for a Christian? No…until we leave the world there will be these things. Jesus didn’t say we would fail, so experiencing these things are not failure. Does God bring trials and sufferings to teach us or get our attention? No…He bore our grief and sorrow (Isaiah 53:4) and that means God does not put them on us since Jesus did a perfect work.
Let’s look at John 16:33 again: “In the world you will have trials and tribulations.” Note it does not say, “In God”, it says “In the world…”. God is the source of all that is good…He never orchestrates difficulties. He is the perfect Orchestrator of redemption. He redeems the most challenging difficulties, turning them into a display of His goodness.
The result of your life-union with Him is He brings His glory on your difficulty and when He does, others will see it. He brings blessing on those who trust Him. When you trust Him in a trial, His glory shines and is evident.
“ Every detail of our lives is continually woven together to fit into God’s perfect plan of bringing good into our lives, for we are His lovers who have been called to fulfill His designed purpose.”- Romans 8:28
The Holy Spirit is the Comforter of our lives. He comes alongside us and teaches us our true God-purposed identity and shows us what has already been deposited within us because of our union with Jesus.
Trials
The purpose of any trial is to solve a legal dispute. When you are going through a trial TRUTH is being tested. It is not you, personally, who is on trial because according to Romans 8:1 “The case is closed…there is no condemnation for those who walk after the Spirit.” Trials will test what we have believed is TRUTH. The foundation of your faith is tested. Before the trouble came, you established your faith by choice. This is why it is so important to build your faith in the TRUTH everyday.
When we choose to believe every Word God spoke and solidly attach our agreement to it, God calls us “Chosen”. He loves when you choose life because He is life. When we do, His life fills us and surrounds us and now we are His.
When you are in the fog-like state of a storm, trial, or difficulty and there are voices of fear or old-identity thoughts, it is time to quiet it all with what is true.
To get there sometimes we need to “focus-up” with a few important points:
1) Confess any sin so that there is “no accusing conscience” adding to the fog. God forgives you and washes the slate clean every time you ask.
2) Scan your heart for doubt and unbelief (this is where fears live) and replace it with the promise of God.
3) Surrender: Surrender your ability to power through in your own strength and surrender to the Holy Spirit’s comfort and His counsel.
4) Speak Christ: Declare who you are in Him and let praise begin to flow freely. Praise always clears the fog.
Reminder to us all: Every believer has a precious well of faith within them. When someone is going through a trial or difficulty never judge or remark on the state of their well. It is not our job to make their well like ours or ours like theirs. The path we all walk is narrow because it is You and Jesus…not you, your people, your church, the church in total, and Jesus.
One Word from the Holy Spirit changes everything. One Word… and it is a Word tailored to you and building relationship with Him.
Next time you are in the car or travelling turn on this recording so you can hear what the Holy Spirit has for you in this moment. As He speaks during Holy Spirit school He might be speaking directly to you and I might have missed that personal Word in this synopsis.
You can find this on Spotify under “Holy Spirit School”.
Blessings to you, my friend. You are being transformed by His truth everyday.
Pastor Teresa
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