The Ups and Downs of Life

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“These things I have spoken to you in figurative language; but the time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but I will tell you plainly about the Father.  In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God. I came forth from the Father and have come into the world. Again, I leave the world and go to the Father.”

 

His disciples said to Him, “See, now You are speaking plainly, and using no figure of speech!  Now we are sure that You know all things, and have no need that anyone should question You. By this we believe that You came forth from God.”

 

Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe?  Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.  These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”  -  John 16:25-33 

 

 

A Facebook memory popped up, showing me a picture of my triumphant five-year-old when she’d won a fun and competitive game of Chutes and Ladders. I’d tagged my brother and sister in the post because we’d often played this board game when we were kids. Chutes and Ladders is based on a game that’s been played for centuries, helping people learn to count and providing the thrill of being able to climb a ladder and win the game by getting to 100 the fastest. But watch out! If you land on spot 98, you slide far down the chute, delaying - or even prohibiting - victory.

 

Isn’t that just like life? Jesus lovingly prepared us for the ups and downs of our days. He said we’d experience “trouble” (John 16:33), but He also shared a message of peace. We don’t have to be shaken by the trials we face. Why? Christ has overcome the world! Nothing is greater than His power, so we too can face whatever comes our way with “the mighty strength” He’s made available to us (Ephesians 1:19).

 

John 13-17, commonly known as the Upper Room Discourse, contains a detailed recounting of what took place as Jesus shared His last Passover meal with His disciples. In the upper room, Christ revealed a great deal about His own mission, His relationship to the Father, and particularly what would happen in the next few hours of His life. He predicted both His betrayal by Judas (13:18-30) and Peter’s denial (vv. 31-38). Perhaps most significantly, Jesus told His disciples that He’d be going away and returning to the Father, but He would send a Comforter, the Holy Spirit (14:25-27). Amid stress and turmoil, Christ offered comfort. He said, “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” (16:33).

 

Just like in Chutes and Ladders, sometimes life presents a ladder allowing us to happily ascend, and other times we tumble down a slippery slide. But we don’t have to play the game of life without hope. We have the power of Jesus to help us overcome it all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The devotional message, “The Ups and Downs of Life”, was written by Mrs. Katara Patton, and appeared in “Our Daily Bread”, www.odb.org, September 21, 2024.  Used here with permission from the website.
 

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