These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace.
In the world ye shall have tribulation:
but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. John 16:33
We all have them
Those obstacles we have to overcome that come our way
They call it life
C’est la vie
As a Christian, we can be sure that God is looking for us to look to Him
That is probably the case with everyone,
but since God knows what is in a person’s heart,
He may not exactly looking for that but perhaps always hoping
For us though, He wants us to reach out to Him
It is one of the ways we learn to trust Him, to lean upon Him,
to glorify Him in the midst of our trials
We find on the other side of those trials how much He helped us
and even that He has taught us a few things along the way
Tribulations are more severe trials
Having a tumultuous situation seems to have no answer
or seems that it will never end
Many of God’s people in the Bible suffered such tribulations
We learn more about God and more about ourselves during these times
And we learn that we can make it through
Sometimes it can be because we disobeyed God,
as was the case with Jonah when he was swallowed by the whale,
until he was completely humbled and ready to obey
Other times not
The disciples whose boat was practically capsizing
as it filled up with water, while Jesus was taking a nap,
had done nothing wrong
Neither had Shadrach Meshach and Abednego
when they were put in the fiery furnace
Either way, there is a lesson when we reach the other side of the tribulation that we should be able to see if we ask the Lord
My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. James 1:2-3
It is part of this world in which we live
Many do not look to God in their trials and tribulations,
but instead, trust in their money, their intelligence, or other worldly riches.
Some trust in chariots, and some in horses:
but we will remember the name of the Lord our God. Psalm 20:7
Be of good cheer, Brethren, Jesus has overcome the world