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.” John 16:33
Jesus was constantly telling people throughout the New Testament to TAKE HEART! What you and I can be sure of is that if Jesus is telling us to Take heart that must mean there is a chance that we have lost heart somewhere along the way. I just wonder how many of you have ever lost heart. You may be reading this devotion now and you are dealing with some things in life that are making you tired, weary, discouraged, dealing with grief, and ready to give up. That’s exactly what it means to lose heart.
When Jesus tells us to take heart it means to: be encouraged, to have hope, to be bold and confident, to not give up, to be of good cheer, to have courage, and to CHEER UP! Whether we take heart or lose heart is simply a choice we make. The way Jesus uses the phrase take heart here in John 16:33 is as an imperative verb. That means that he is saying taking heart is an action, it’s something we do, and that it is a possibility in our lives based off the choice we make…but it doesn’t become a reality until we actually make the choice.
There is a very good reason that Jesus tells us we will have to take heart. In John 16:33 Jesus makes very clear to us that in this world we WILL have trouble and tribulation. If you like memorizing promises from God you can memorize this one. I wonder how many times we find this promise in our promise books? The fact is that you and I will experience hardship in life. We will deal with pain and grief and loss. It’s part of living in a falling world. We shouldn’t be too surprised when some trial or tribulation makes its way into our lives, it’s part of what God has already warned us would happen. But we do get to choose how we respond to those trials. We can choose to take heart.
There are a few things to watch out for that can cause you to lose heart throughout a trial.
1. We can listen to the wrong people
2. We can let the problem make itself bigger than God (Are you telling God how big your
problems are or are you telling your problems how big your God is?)
3. We can believe rumors
So how do we take heart? The first step is to pray persistently. Just because God tells us trials will come doesn’t mean we just give in to them. Jesus uses a story in Luke 18 about a widow that continued to go to the judge and ask for justice to teach us how to pray. She went back time and time again and pleaded with the judge and finally the judge gave in and granted her request. Jesus wasn’t comparing the woman and judge to us and God but in fact contrasting it. He was saying if this woman who was a poor widow could get a judge to hear her and bring her justice how much more will a loving God respond to his children. God does respond to our persistence in prayer, so keep asking him.
The second step to taking heart is choosing to trust your God. John 14:1 tells us “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.” I have a question for you: Are you trusting God or….Are you trusting God to do what you tell him to do.
You and I have got to get to the point where we can say God I Trust you and not just God I trust you to fix my problem just like I tell you to. We have to be careful to understand that even though we are told to pray persistently we may not always get the answers just exactly like we wanted them. So many times we tune into a message or devotion ready to hear promises to you that God will do this and God will do that. Now God is clear in his word and does promise us many things but the most important promise he gives you is that he will be faithful no matter what you are facing. So take heart dear one….
John 16:33 Message
I’ve told you all this so that trusting me, you will be unshakable and assured, deeply
at peace. In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take
heart! I’ve conquered the world.”
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30 comments:
This was beautifully written and spoke to me. Thank you.
Thanks for the insight. Much needed.
Well versed. Many thanks!
Realizations. This helped me a lot! Thank you so much! May God Bless you! :)
Thank you so much! I will take heart! :)
This is beautiful and exactly what I needed. Thank you.
I just stumbled across this post as I am struggling to understand the suicide of my beautiful happy son. I need to either Trust God, or trust that God will do as I tell him to (bring back Bobby! Or help me understand!)
The former, Trust God --- will bring me comfort, the latter will bring me frustration and disappointment and non-belief... In other words, nothing but darkness. Bless you, Jenny P.
thank you....explained so well...just what I needed to hear...
Blessings to this ministry... Simple truth God is God. This message "Take Heart" bares witness with my spirit. I will continue to take heart and stand firm during my struggles. I trust God simply for who he is..
Blessings to this ministry... Simple truth God is God. This message "Take Heart" bares witness with my spirit. I will continue to take heart and stand firm during my struggles. I trust God simply for who he is..
Wonderful and true. Thankyou!
In a difficult season read and reread this passage. God I'm sorry for my doubts and fears. I need you in my life even when you don't answer my prayers. Please stay and dwell in my spirit, mind and heart.
In a difficult season read and reread this passage. God I'm sorry for my doubts and fears. I need you in my life even when you don't answer my prayers. Please stay and dwell in my spirit, mind and heart.
Simply wonderful, Thank you for this post
This was great. Thanks for posting!
This was great. Thanks for posting!
I had an idea what take heart meant but now I really understand it. It's good to know that no matter what we are going thru in life and what we are gonna go thru we can trust God. Thx I am now even stronger as a warrior of God. PEACE TO ALL.
powerful message
Me too Father in Jesus name we do pray....Amen
May God continue to bless you and your family. He loves you and will never leave you nor forsake you.
I bless you, and I pray that our Father in Heaven bring you much peace, comfort, and eventually have joy again. In Jesus name. Amen
Take heart meaning
The idiomatic phrase take heart can be as confusing as many phrasal verbs, as you couldn't possibly guess the meaning by knowing the meaning of the two words separately.
If you take heart in or from something, you are encouraged by it, it makes you feel positive about something.
Although the words in the idiomatic expression 'to take heart from (something)' are the same as those in 'to take (something) to heart', be careful! These two expressions have completely different meanings and should definitely not be mistaken for one another!
Source: theidioms.com/take-heart
Wow... 9 years later and this devotion has encouraged me. A year ago, my father passed away from leukemia. Ironically, this week I have come face to face with the reality that God is calling me to let go of the pain and to trust him... to see HIM as my father. I have been trying to read comforting scriptures, and I've been wrestling with God... This is an amazing devotion and really speaks to the soul. Thank you so much! 9 years later and this devotion is still speaking to people's hearts. God bless you.
This message, and the Bible is timeless and always relevant. This brief message is central to hope and reading it today gave me hope. My brother-in-law was recently (last week) taken from this earth to our eternal home in heaven. He knew this message, and this message will see us through, thank you. 3/2/20 living in His hope.
Was reading a devotion and wanted more info on the phrase "take heart" and came upon this blog. So much is going wrong in our world today, this was a tremendous help in my attempts to get my heart,thoughts and prayers in the right place.
Much about life is uncertain at the moment—and many things remain outside of your control. I'm glad that i found this blog. Thanks to the writer.
Thank you so much. Im doing a sermon on these words. This is fantastic.
Mary Ellen Lanoue Texas
Needed this glad I stumbled across this in giving God his time!
I woke up this morning, and the scriptures including "Take Heart" started coming to mind. The last few days, I have been feeling discouraged and not pursuing the Lord, very self-focused. I ran across this, looking up the phrase "Take Heart", and wow, am I ever encouraged!!! Thank You Jesus!!
Extremely encouraging; just what the Lord wanted me to hear for me to “CHEER UP.” And that question of yours: “Are you trusting God or trusting God to do what you tell Him to do?” Hit the bulls eye of my focus. Thank you! Asking God to shower blessings on you today.
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