I have friends who are leading causes scattered around the world, but one thing they have in common. They all seem to be up to their eyeballs in problems. Trouble seems to follow them.

One friend is dealing with the aftermath of a divorce. Having lawyers talk about when you get to see your children is troubling. Having a judge decide what happens with your money is troubling. Another friend is losing his business that he spent years building. Another friend had to call the police on his son. These are terrible, troubling things!

That's why I find Jesus's words oddly comforting: “In this world you will have trouble,” (John 16:33). Jesus promised it and I can prepare for it. In a way, it’s a gift. I get a chance to set my expectations, to prepare myself for the worst. It takes the edge off the surprise. This is a part of the program.

Often, when I encounter big problems, it's not the trouble itself, but the surprise when it shows up and changes everything that upsets me. And I wonder if it's not that way for all of us. Maybe you expected a time of prosperity and peace, but surprise! One day you lose your job and you find yourself scrounging for a living instead.

“Trouble” could be any number of things.  It could mean resistance, pain, or just stuff going wrong.  If you’re on a team that’s focused on a goal, trouble could come in the form of disunity.  Perhaps teammates disagree about where the team should go or how to get there.

Talking to his disciples (Matthew 10), Jesus gives us a list of troubling things that will befall us as we advance his kingdom. We will be…

• Handed over to local councils
• Flogged
• Arrested
• Betrayed
• Death
• Hated by all men
• Persecuted*

But paradoxically, his motive is to encourage us. Jesus is telling us a story. He's saying, "We have an objective. It will meet resistance, but in the end, we win."

As plot lines go, it's a good one. His purpose is to give us the big picture. He concludes by saying, "Take heart, I have overcome the world." It's good advice.

If we didn’t face a sworn enemy who was committed to seeing people suffer, it would be different. But every bit of progress toward freedom or happiness is a setback for him. When his kingdom suffers a setback, he can be counted on to resist and cause trouble.

Many of us are in some kind of trouble. If that's where you find yourself today, consider that it may in fact be a good thing.

*Matt. 10: 17-23