John 16:31 – Do you NOW believe?

An hour is coming, and has come when each of you will be scattered.  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

Jesus said, “Oh NOW you believe.”  How often we make little steps out of “belief” and into faith.  God shows us the same thing he’s BEEN showing us for months, or years, and we finally GET IT, or at least part of it; our eyes are opened and God says, “now you see.”

“Now You Believe” – so just go on with your revelation?  No… this revelation is for the hard stuff still to come.  “an hour is coming, and HAS come”  You GOT THIS.  It is IN the struggle that we are forced into the Master’s presence.  At the Master’s feet, or on our backs, knocked down by life, we focus on his voice and his message and v30 says “by THIS we believe”.  How many hard things have happened that were the vehicle that moved you OUT of “self-competency” and INTO faith in God?  And this new knowledge / revelation, is FOR THIS HOUR

An hour is coming and has come

There is something coming and we are now at the threshold and the increased knowledge and faith you have received is what will get you through the next chapter to come. 

You will be scattered i.e. “you ain’t seen nothing yet”. 

The enemy is riled up too… you will FEEL alone.  But if we are on the obedient, God-honoring, Spirit empowered mission, you are NOT ALONE, never alone, “because the Father is with me”.  Jesus understood what we must, that we will never be alone in the plan and purposes of God.  So he says, “now that you believe… let me tell you why I revealed this… What’s God saying today? Believe and Go

So that – those are some of my favorite words in scripture – God is always a SO THAT God, not a SO WHAT, God. 

So that you may have PEACE – Eirene = welfare, peace, be undisturbed

God’s revelation comes not for your permission, not even for your embrace… but that you might not be disturbed by the struggle, but have PEACE, not in the information, because peace comes not from the information but is a gift of the Holy Spirit