John 16:33 (NIV) 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. INTRODUCTION Courage grows from the presence of Christ. Jesus summed up all he had told them this night, tying together themes from 14:27-29; 16:1-4; and 16:9-11. With these words he told his disciples to take courage. In spite of the inevitable struggles they would face, they would not be alone. Jesus does not abandon us to our struggles either. If we remember that the ultimate victory has already been won, we can claim the peace of Christ in the most troublesome times. [Life Application SB] COMMENTARY PEARL With the baby spoon, I scooped another bite of mashed carrots and offered it to my ten-month-old granddaughter. I knew Chloe Grace was getting full, but like a baby bird, she opened her tiny mouth to accept it anyway. She smiled, put her lips together, and happily blew orange specks in my face, on my shirt, and across my pants. I giggled, wiped off the mess, and tickled her chubby chin. The little girl with strawberry-blond hair and deep blue eyes holds the first spot on my "Be of Good Cheer" list. I started the list after her birth to help me focus on the positives in my life rather than on the negatives swirling in the world around me. "Be of good cheer," of course, is not an original phrase - Jesus said it first. Jesus spoke the phrase to a man with paralysis and then healed him (Matthew 9:2). He gave the same encouragement to a woman who had been sick for twelve years, just before He restored her health (Matthew 9:22). And in John 16, He used the four words to comfort the disciples who felt afraid and confused. I treasure everything Jesus said, but "be of good cheer" uplifts me most of all. Adding items to my "Be of Good Cheer" list redirects my thoughts from the worries of the day to the peace of Jesus. As I reread the past entries, I celebrate each one anew, beginning with the carrot bath from sweet Chloe Grace. Becky Alexander Faith Step: Create your own "Be of Good Cheer" list. Thank Jesus for every blessing. [Mornings With Jesus 2020 Devotional by Guideposts and Zondervan] COMMENTARY Christ's humanity was united with divinity; He was fitted for the conflict by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. And He came to make us partakers of the divine nature. So long as we are united to Him by faith, sin has no more dominion over us. God reaches for the hand of faith in us to direct it to lay fast hold upon the divinity of Christ, that we may attain to perfection of character. And how this is accomplished, Christ has shown us. By what means did He overcome in the conflict with Satan? By the word of God. Only by the word could He resist temptation. "It is written," He said. And unto us are given "exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust." 2 Peter 1:4. Every promise in God's word is ours. "By every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" are we to live. When assailed by temptation, look not to circumstances or to the weakness of self, but to the power of the word. All its strength is yours. DA123 EXCELLENT ARTICLE ON THIS TEXT THAT IS A MUST READ Why Did Jesus Tell Us to Be of Good Cheer? https://www.christianity.com/wiki/bible/why-did-jesus-tell-us-to-be-of-good-cheer.html LINK FOR FURTHER STUDY John 16:33 - Genuine Peace is Found in a Relationship with Jesus Christ!!! http://www.abible.com/devotions/2022/20220801-0829.html LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT https://abible.com/links/