31 Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? 32 Behold, an hour is coming, and has already come, for you to be scattered, each to his own home, and to leave Me alone; and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. 33 These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

John 16:31-33

Whatever hardship comes our way, we must believe without a doubt that it comes from God. He gives us personal and familial hardships. He gives us wars and famine. He gives us the Coronavirus. God is the author of all our tribulations. When we meet these hardships and prepare for future tribulations, we must repent and live a God-centered life.

Tribulations come in a wide variety of ways. Do not focus on the type of hardship. For example, some people prepare for an upcoming war or apocalypse or depression. God will not give you the tribulation for which you prepared. Instead of directing our preparations for a specific hardship, we must prepare in a way that offers us refuge from all tribulations. In other words, we must cast a wide net and prepare in a way that encompasses every kind of tribulation. To do this, we must follow Jesus’ model of keeping His commandments and devoting His life to God.

As hardships come, the first thing we must do is keep His commandments and repent all sins. We must look to the Bible as the standard. For example, compare your lives to the Ten Commandments. Have you lied? Have you committed adultery? Have you worshipped idols? Have you failed to keep the Lord’s Day holy? Repent those sins immediately! The best way to prepare for tribulations is to be sinless. If we repent almost everything but leave a morsel of sin, we end up failing because of that sin. Whether we are preparing for tribulation or in the midst of tribulation, repent all sins and aim to be sinless! This is the best way to prepare for hardships. It’s also the best way to get through hardships.

After we repent our sins, live a God-centered life. Instead of putting yourself at the center of all things, place God in the center. Repenting our sins and living according to His laws naturally propels us to live a God-centered life. When living a God-centered life, we don’t place our families, jobs, or ambitions ahead of God. We place God first in everything we do. We cultivate a God-centered life by completing the first step of repenting all our sins and sticking to His laws.

“In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” God creates all our tribulations, but we must take courage. Jesus overcame the world by living according to His word, repenting all sins, and living a God-centered life. We can overcome any hardship if we follow Jesus’ model.

Summary

1. God creates all hardships. 
2. Prepare for any kind of tribulation.
3. Overcome hardships by…
4. Following His commands. 
5. Repenting sins. 
6. Living a God-centered life

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