Having Confidence in Jesus Alone
Today’s Verse:
John 16:33 ESV
(Jesus said) "In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
What a powerful and comforting promise from our Lord, Jesus Christ! In a world often filled with anxieties, uncertainties, and challenges, it's easy for our confidence to waver. We might find ourselves trusting in our own abilities, our financial security, or even the opinions of others. But as Lutherans, we are called to place our full and unwavering confidence in Jesus Christ alone.
Think about it: Christ doesn't promise us a life free from trouble. In fact, He explicitly states that we will have trouble. This isn't meant to discourage us, but to prepare us and redirect our focus. Our confidence isn't in the absence of problems, but in the presence of our Savior who has already conquered the ultimate foes: sin, death, and the devil.
This means we can approach each day, each challenge, and each moment of doubt with a deep sense of peace. When anxieties rise, we recall His victory. When we stumble, we remember His perfect righteousness, freely given to us. When we face the unknown, we cling to the fact that He holds all things in His hands.
Our confidence in Jesus isn't a boast in our own strength, but a humble reliance on His. It's the assurance that because He lives, we also live. Because He triumphed, we are secure. Because He loves us unconditionally, we are always held in His grace.
So, let us go forward, not with a forced optimism, but with a confident assurance rooted in the finished work of Christ. May our hearts and minds be continually fixed on Him, the author and perfecter of our faith.
Prayers
A Prayer for Today:
Gracious God, thank You for the gift of Your Son, Jesus Christ, in whom we have perfect confidence. Strengthen our faith, quiet our anxieties, and help us to always remember that through Him, we have overcome the world. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luther’s Morning Prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.