Not of this World

We all have our own personal struggles in life. For some it may be a continual, ongoing battle with injustice, pain, or fear. For others it might seem like an endless effort just to keep their head above the water. They might say, “Surely, as Christians, we should expect more than this? Must we continually battle with these things, like the rest of the world?”

But it’s not all pain and woe, although sometimes it might feel like it. Here is a promise in Psalm 34:19, ‘Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him from them all’.

Jesus said of His disciples, “My prayer is not that You take them out of world but that You protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it” (John 17:15-16).

Jesus suffered unimaginable agony hanging on a cruel cross; not least by being separated from His beloved Father (Matthew 27:46). He became one of us, so that He could put to death the sin of mankind, once and for all, not that we might be free from all pain, but that we would be free from the consequences of sin.

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38,39). We are inseparable from the love of Jesus, who Himself is united with the Father.

There’s the answer. His love holds us in the palm of His hand where we are safe. We need to understand that this is where our strength lies, so we can retreat into the shelter of the shadow of His wings. Without this assurance of His protection, His guidance and His everlasting love, we have nothing. But under the covering of the Holy Spirit, with the assurance of His promises and His continued presence in our lives, we are able not only to endure our troubles, but to rejoice in them (James 1:2).

The letter of John tells us, ‘You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world’ (1 John 4:4).

Our destiny is in Jesus. ‘For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light’ (Ephesians 5:8).

This is the hope we have in Him; a true loving relationship that assures us He will never leave us and will never stop loving us. This is the source of our strength. No matter what the world might throw at us, He is greater. ‘I can do all things through Him who strengthens me’ (Philippians 4:13).

‘For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are inclined to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil’ (1 Peter 3:12).