The Trouble with Troubles
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26 In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I shall to pray the Father for you; 27 for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God. 28 I came forth from the Father and have come into the world. Again, I leave the world and go to the Father.”
29 His disciples said to Him, “See, now You are speaking plainly, and using no figure of speech! 30 Now we are sure that You know all things, and have no need that anyone should question You. By this we believe that You came forth from God.”
31 Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? 32 Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. 33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
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Thank you for inviting me to be with you at Lee Abbey.
I studied with Gordon (the warden) at bible college in Durham many moons ago but we did keep in touch sporadically and I am thrilled that he is the warden here and we are so blessed to receive the hospitality of this Christian community here in Devon.
I am a retired Hospital Chaplain having been, until recently, a lead chaplain working in the NHS at the Isle of Wight NHS Trust and Mountbatten Hospice. I ‘cut my Hospital Chaplaincy teeth’ in Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust when I took up a full-time appointment there in 2006. Prior to that, I was a vicar in Wakefield.
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26 In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. 27 No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. 28 I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”
29 Then Jesus’ disciples said, “Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech. 30 Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.”
31 “Do you now believe?” Jesus replied. 32 “A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
There are 21 Chapters in John. The last 10 chapters focus on the last six days of Jesus’ life and five of those (Chapters 13-17) focus on a few hours, Jesus’ last supper in the upper room. Throughout these 5 chapters (13-17) he refers to troubles, urging his followers to ‘abide’ in him.
In my healthcare work I met people who faced adversity; a health crisis, an injury or suffering through long term disability; ‘in this world you will have trouble.’ When the assumed ‘givens’ of life are taken or threatened, people are vulnerable and reaching out, fearful of what the outcome may be from their ‘troubles.’ However, I noticed the vocabulary people use to refer to the divine was of a God who was distant. ‘Him up there mustn’t be happy with me’ or ‘I must have done something to upset him (looking upwards),’ or ‘send one up for me, He won’t listen to me’ (meaning prayer).
But from our bible reading today, John 16:26-27 says:
“In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.”
In other words, even Jesus is saying, ‘I’m not between you and the Father,’ as though you can’t go to him directly. Why? Because “the Father himself loves you.” So don’t make God’s Son more of a Mediator than he is, John 16:26 incredibly warns us not to think of God Almighty as ‘him up there,’ a great ogre in the sky and we dare not enter directly into his presence. The message is clear, “you can make your requests directly to our loving heavenly father, Abba father.”
He loves you, wants you to come. He is not angry at you.” That may be a message specifically for someone today.
My guess is that there are people of faith and no faith here this weekend and I really believe these few days reflection on the storms of life and the one who says I have overcome them is as relevant today as ever.
Throughout these five chapters of John (13-17) Jesus is teaching and reassuring them about who he is, what he is doing, and where he is going. Jesus speaks about trouble and adversity to come and the importance of sticking with Jesus (abiding John 15:4,5). Then we find at the end of John 16:33
‘I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart I have overcome the world’
Trouble can also be interpreted in many ways, it can be understood as persecution.
We could interpret the invasion of Ukraine as persecution for Christians there. You may say we don’t face much persecution compared to Christians elsewhere, maybe so but it’s coming. You are likely to get cautioned for a hate crime if you quote certain bits of the bible in the UK today. Jamie Murray’s Salt and Light café in Blackpool was warned for having scriptures running on a video loop over beautiful scenery. A customer claimed it was inciting hatred!
Trouble can also be understood as a personal crisis…
‘trouble’…it may be an awkward look from your GP or specialist as she delivers the ‘results.’ It may be scarring from abuse of many years ago. Trouble could be like my own trauma when at the age of I was involved in a road traffic accident that left me in a wheelchair. I was in Hospital for 10 months just surviving but as I remained ‘in the Lord’ I experienced his peace.
The trouble with trouble is you cant define it and how you would sum up trouble is different to how I would describe it but Jesus says in John 16:33 is that ‘you will have it.’
Some of us seem to have lots some not so much but John 16:33 says
‘I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace.
In this world you will have trouble.
But take heart I have overcome the world.’
During my own trauma, when I was in the middle of it, I wondered: “Lord, how can I endure this, I feel crushed, broken,” but I had a little New Testament in my back pocket during my accident and I held onto it while I was in the Spinal Injuries Unit and a different bible verse ministered to me every day. Abiding in the Lord, sticking with the Lord, I experienced that all-sufficient Grace (2 Corinthians 12:9) and I saw how God could use the adversity. Not that he caused it, but that every swipe of the enemy could be turned into a victory if we turned to him. Think of it, God will use our adversity to crush our enemy if we remain in him. That’s how I read 1 Corinthians 15:25
‘For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
The last enemy to be destroyed is death.’
He must reign until he has put the enemy ‘paraplegia’ under his feet, and I can be a part of that – I said then and say again yes Lord count me in.
This is spiritual warfare and sometimes we need to remember we are the battleground! God will always use the storms of life, ‘troubles,’ for his purpose if we run to him.
We have a choice when troubles come, to run to God or to run away from him. As we run to him we will know his peace. Instead of falling away we cling to him and know that he holds me fast. Jude 24: “Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy.”
Not only keep you from stumbling but to be part of the overcoming as we abide in the overcomer, he ‘causes us to triumph’ (2 Corinthians 2:14) ‘putting the enemy under his feet’ (1 Corinthians 15:25).
Let me explain it this way,
Because that 23-year-old was pinned under a car in a ravine at Honister Pass in the Lake District (UK) and because he clung to the Lord …. tended by chaplains Roger and Roger at Pinderfields Hospital Spinal Injuries Unit and because he believed the Lord was with him always (even when it didn’t seem so)… the Lord was able to use that testimony and in time I became one of those chaplains who visited and comforted and brought prayers and a message of healing to people who were going through their own troubles.
It may also be good for you to reflect at this time, on who you turned to, who helped you in your storms of life. As we contemplate, we see that God has been on our case long before we were aware.
And you are here today and whether you are in a crisis or coming out the other side of it the Lord will minister to you and through you here at Lee Abbey and after. We will look deeper into this passage and into Mark 4:35-41 (Jesus calms the storms), using some art to reflect, giving time for us to fellowship together I look forward to sharing with you.
