“I have told you these things so that in me you will have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.” —John 16:33
Read Together: John 15:18-27
We are all familiar with the “honeymoon phase” in our marriage or even when we get a new coaching job. The honeymoon phase is when we experience only the positive; everyone sees the best in any situation and love is what we are feeling. Everything is good until it isn’t. We know the honeymoon phase ends and the brokenness of this world is revealed. This is the point when love isn’t always what we are feeling, but it is a commitment.
We have talked about the connection to God, the cultivating from God, the choice to love because of God and now we commit through the challenges with God.
As we read in verses 18-27, Jesus is warning us that life with Him will not always feel like a honeymoon, but we will experience challenges living in this broken world. People may hate us because of Christ. People may persecute us because of Christ. People may reject us because of our relationship of Christ. Jesus reiterates this in John 16:33, “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.” If the Lord’s role is to give us peace in the suffering and a victory in the end, our role is to commit, not quit!
There’s a different set of emotions we go through when we are watching or coaching a winning game in real time verses when we are watching the replay. When we know how the game turns out in the end the turnover, bad shot, or play that didn’t work doesn’t sting as bad. You keep watching the game because you know who wins in the end. Jesus is reminding us that He wins in the end. Even though we may experience challenges or hardships, we have victory because Jesus has already conquered the world with His life, death and resurrection.
Jesus doesn’t just give us victory in the end, but send us a helper, a Counselor, the Holy Spirit to help us in the current challenges. He will guide us in all truth amongst a world of lies. He will remind us of the victory we have in Christ. He will give us the strength to commit through the challenges.
FAITH
“Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their efforts. For if either falls, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to lift him up.” —Ecclesiastes 4:9-10
WARM-UP
Q: What was a favorite memory from your honeymoon?
Q: What are some of the challenges you are facing right now in job, marriage, and/or family?
Q: How does Jesus’ victory encourage you in your current challenges?
WORKOUT
Read Together: 2 Samuel 23:8-17
David was a leader of a nation, but he went to war with a team. Throughout all the challenges David endured, God provided the help he needed for the battle he was in. Among the help David had included The Three, his three mightiest warriors. As we read in the story, David was experiencing thirst while hiding in a cave from enemies. These warriors were so committed they embraced the challenges they faced as they fought the Philistines to bring back the water for David. It was their love and commitment to David that led them to enter the battlefield for him. The best part of this story is David’s love and commitment to the Lord and his men by offering the very water they fought to bring him to God as an offering.
Marriage can feel like a war sometimes because of the challenges we face. These challenges can include the peaks and valleys of the coaching profession, the struggles in raising kids and our own selfishness and baggage we bring into the marriage. There is a favorite quote that should encourage us, “Being in war together may be what keeps us from being at war with each other. Rather than neglecting the battle to work on your marriage, maybe the best thing for your marriage is to enter the battlefield together.” *
As followers of Christ living in a broken world, we have a spiritual enemy who is out to kill, steal and destroy our marriages but Jesus said, “I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance. (John 10:10). We get to experience this abundant life when we understand the love and commitment Jesus had through the challenges He overcame from the cradle to the cross. He was committed to the Father, committed to the call and committed to us.
In marriage we have a built-in warrior that enters the battlefield with us, overcoming challenges together and encouraging one other to keep our eyes on Jesus. In a Christ-centered marriage, we can be like David and have a teammate that fights for us but we also have the Holy Spirit that Jesus promises will help us. With God Himself helping us and our spouse fighting alongside us, there is not a challenge than can be too much for us. WE HAVE VICTORY!
WRAP-UP
“This is the victory that has conquered the world: our faith.” 1 John 5:4b
Q: What encouraged and challenged you in the story of David and his mighty men?
Q: How can your spouse be a warrior for you in a challenge you are facing? Share this with your spouse so they can pray specifically for this battle.
Q: We serve a God who showed his love and commitment to us, how can we show our commitment to God and to our spouse?
FAMILY
“The Lord is my Shepherd; I have all I need.”-Psalm 23:1
WARM-UP
Q: What is your favorite activity to do with your spouse?
Q: When do feel the most restful and at peace?
WORKOUT
Read Together: Psalm 23
As we read this Psalm, we have a front row seat to how David stayed committed through the challenges he was facing. He proved his commitment by facing them with the Lord. We know we will face many challenges in our marriage, in our family and in coaching, but we too can overcome them with the Lord. In our relationship with Jesus and with the power of the Holy Spirit, we have Living Water, the Bread of Life, the Light of the World and the Good Shepherd. Like David, God gives us what we need when we need it. When David is declaring God will let him lie down in green pastures and lead him beside quiet waters, this is bold faith statement because he lived in a desert-like terrain. When we need green pastures, He will supply. We don’t have to worry about our current situation because God is there. We don’t have to stress about our future plans because God is already there. When we are walking with the Lord, He directs our paths so we don’t have to. When we find ourselves in a dark valley, we don’t camp out there, “we go through” it without fear because He is walking with us. When people come against us, God gives us what we need not by simply always removing them but providing comfort and help right there in the midst of them. No matter what challenges we are facing in our family, in our job or in our world, the goodness and faithful love of God still pursues us all the days of our lives.
David’s commitment to the Lord through his life should challenge and encourage us as we navigate through ours. He was living proof that when we stay connected to God, cultivate Christ-like character, choose to love others and stay committed through the challenges, we can have a deep intimate relationship with God that carries us through.
David was proven ... are we?
WRAP-UP
“My Father is glorified by this: that you produce much fruit and prove to be my disciples.” -John 15:8
Q: Which characteristics of God as our Shepherd encouraged you the most?
Q: How has David’s proven faith challenged and encouraged you?
CHALLENGE: Read Psalm 23 together for 7 days
*(Francis Chan, “Marriage on the Edge of Eternity”, October 17, 2014, https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/marriage-on-the-edge-of-eternity)