Just Do It!
“In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 NASB
Overcome – Here is the Greek word nenikeka. This is a form of the verb nike (you can see it in the middle of the word). It means, “to be victorious over.” Now you know why a shoe company has a Greek name. The most important thing about this verb is that it is in the perfect tense. This tells us that the verb describes a completed action in the past that has continuing impact in the present.
Yeshua is telling us something incredibly important. What he accomplished in his death and resurrection (the event in the past) has continuing impact for us today. Because of him, we have overcome the world too. Yeshua says that we can take courage. We don’t have to win the victory by ourselves. We don’t carry the weight of the world on our shoulders alone. We have been rescued from the terror of being. No matter what we face in this life, Yeshua has overcome the final enemy.
We might be inclined to think this statement is about sin. We may have been taught that overcoming the world is the same as offering forgiveness so that we can get to heaven. But that hardly makes any sense in the context of this verse. Yeshua is not telling his disciples that they are now exempt from the world’s trials and tribulations. In fact, he will soon pray about keeping them in the world. Overcoming the world is not escape. It is the fact that the worst threat of the world’s systems is no longer applicable. Death has lost its sting. Life is guaranteed in spite of death. Yeshua has overcome the greatest fear of every person—that life means nothing because everyone dies.
I really needed to read this verse today. In spite of my belief that God’s faithfulness never fails, life has handed me a series of disappointments recently. Issues that I hoped would be resolved remain. Directions I thought would become clear stayed hidden. I prayed, “God, I know that you love me and I know that you care for me. You have told me that you want good gifts for your children and that you won’t withhold what we need. And I believe you. I am being obedient to you. But I really need some help here. Things are just not getting any better.” The question I face is a question of timing. I see bad things on the horizon. But they are still on the horizon. God is asking me to trust Him.
I need to pay attention to the words in this verse. He has overcome the world. The answer to my trials and tribulations are in His hands. He doesn’t say, “Don’t worry. You have overcome the world.” He says, “Take courage. Rest in what I have already done. The victory is assured.”
The pattern of my world tells me to panic, to worry, to hurry, to get out there and make everything happen. But God gently pushes me to trust His Son and lean on the meaning of life that He provides. So, I have only one direction to go. “Father, I believe that Your Son has overcome my world and all of its mess. Help me to stay faithful to that belief.”
Topical Index: overcome, nike, worry, meaning, death, John 16:33
This sermon by Spurgeon on Job 35:10 I believe speaks to some of this. I know it did for me.
http://biblehub.com/library/kleiser/the_worlds_great_sermons_volume_8/spurgeon__songs_in_the.htm
Amen! So many that I know who are truly listening, obeying and following the call on their life are going through great tribulation these days. Yesterday during the time our small group spends together we talked about how we must go “through” the cross. Numbing ourselves from circumstances doesn’t work. Neither does coping. We MUST go through in order to allow the work to be done in us and to see HIS Glory. So hard! He is positioning us and preparing us. Timing is everything. Thank you, Skip. I needed this today:)
Skip, thank you for this word of encouragement. I am going to try and saturate my mind with this verse today. May The Lord grant all of us a special measure of faith that we can see through our circumstances and trust in the Lord’s work in our lives today, and most of all that because of Yeshua’s triumph there is meaning in our lives.
OMG! This is the word I needed today. I am in the same spot. Issues that should, or I believe they should, have been resolved are still looming. They seem to be getting weightier. Several things seem to be piling up all at once and the load is heavy and I am also saying, “I could use a little help”. Vulnerability is a scary place to be, but in order to truly trust God Most High, I somehow have to get to that place. The battle is not mine and it is not against flesh and blood, but it sure FEELS like it.
My husband received his instrument rating. He would “go under the hood”. He said it was the strangest thing, the instruments said he was level but his body and brain screamed it was wrong. He had to trust those instruments! It was imperative to his success in the sky. I am trying so hard to ignore my mind and trust my heart.
Just one small correction. Eve (Havvah) listened to her heart. She should have listened to God’s word. The heart is not a calibrated instrument for guidance.
Thank-you for that point. It is profound.
I agree, but I wonder if there isn’t another side to the coin here. As you point out in Guardian Angel, what you write in the book is often opposite to what Christian theology has taught us, yet most women have always known that what you say is true. Without a Hebraic background and knowledge of the Biblical languages we often misread the text (as you often point out in your TW’s). So we “listen to God’s word”…but not always correctly. Often I “sense” that the text can’t mean what it seems to mean…how do I do that? I would call that listening to my heart, based on what I know about the character of God etc…or listening to God’s Spirit in my heart…but is there a difference? It’s very different from listening to any natural, fleshly desires. Any thoughts?
I get listening to the Spirit, often described as listening to your heart. But I think we need to be careful with the vocabulary since the culture clearly espouses listening to your heart and certainly does NOT mean listening to the Spirit of the Lord.
Blessings and favor to you Skip….it seems we are all going thru some tribulations and wondering … ‘will it ever end’? And then when we have resolved ourselves to ‘put it in His Hands’ because He is the only one that can see the bigger picture – and we feel that we have done all that we can to stand – BAM – another wave comes crashing down upon us and our feet are swept out from underneath us. We see those elements arising ‘on the horizon’ and we shake…we wonder…we panic…. and yet…we know … WE KNOW that HE has the VICTORY….so we stand….we wait…and again lean on HIS understanding and not our own….thank you for being so vulnerable.
So when the seven churches are all reminded the one who overcomes will prosper and the one who fails to overcome will, ah, not prosper, the underlying concept is nobody overcomes except by the blood of The Lamb and the word of their testimony? In other words, changing one’s behavior is not what is being sought in the context of overcoming?
Yes, yes, yes, it’s so hard to trust, especially through trials and waiting. Not only have I had to wait for financial support, I was pressed by many Christians that I have to do all these different things to raise support and become sustainable. I was so frustrated because the Lord told me to trust HIM. I was trusting but so many others didn’t think I was doing what I should be. I was pressed to try everything to meet our needs. Not wanting to be accused anymore of others comments, I did what many of them wanted me to do. God let me.
Every way that I was told I should do fundraising failed. The Lord let it fail. And, in all that, the criticisms didn’t stop. I finally told my board I cannot do this anymore. Its exhausting me, especially when it turned comical – nobody would show up, no one would answer letters, emails, phone calls, etc. It got ridiculous. Then a board member filled in a couple times for me and got the same experiences. I said, we are just going to trust God. HE called me out of the business world. I have obeyed HIM to the best of my ability in what I know to do, its up to HIM. If HE wants us to keep going, HE will provide or direct us one way or the other. It has been years of this stress. We are just coming out of it. And, HE recently provided in some break through ways that only HE could do, and they came through prayer, waiting and resting in HIM knowing that HE cares and loves us and knows what is needed. It’s always good to have fellow travelers going through the same things so you know you’re not crazy. Thanks Skip for being another guinea pig!
So often there are storms on the horizon, some materialize, some do now. I find when I focus on those clouds I am not at rest, peace flys away. So I do what I can to mitigate the potential storms in how they impact, lay it back on my Father’s shoulders, and live today fully and joyfully. I am surprised at how often the storms I anticipated do not come, instead I am blindsided by another storm. In the midst of storms, God is there. Ps 34:15 “the eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous, and his ears are open to their cries”. This, by no means, means that no troubles will come, yet within them, He delivers. My cry is for peace and assurance in the midst of the tempest, and the strength to keep walking forward. I love a previous post, Skip, where you talked about being “yoked” with God. Working together with God is a safe place!
Loved the transparency and how His promises make it safe 2 just be… thru it all
Timely word …. thanks 🙂
So if this is a present tense word: “Something completed in the past that has continuing impact for the future”, then is Yeshua projecting that His overcoming is “pointing to” the cross? I say this because at this point (verse 16:33) he hasn’t gone to the cross yet; the cross isn’t past yet.
Your question involves the difference between Greek and Hebrew concepts of time. It is a bit more complicated than the simple text reveals because the audience of his statement already accepted the Hebraic view so it didn’t need to be elaborated. Same problem with a lot of biblical things. We read them with a mindset from an alien world. Anyway, pretty soon I will have to work on some of this as an extension of my PhD. But right now I am just trying to get to Johannesburg. 🙂
I should have said is he projecting that HIs overcoming will be His death and subsequent resurrection? Because it hasn’t occurred at this point yet (In John 16:33)….