Re: "free from anxiety and trouble"

Much trouble came to Jesus himself often and ultimately cost him his life. And Jesus warned his disciples, " If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you" (John 15:20 ESV). Indeed, countless numbers of Jesus' followers have been persecuted and martyred since. Jesus also said, "In the world you will have tribulation" (John 16:33).

(Once I had an opportunity to respond to a dear friend who was inquiring into the Christian faith. Recalling what she had heard elsewhere, she told me firmly, "I don't want to hear how becoming a Christian will make life hunky-dory, because I know that's not true!")

In this broken world, and on account of our own frailty, we will certainly not be "free from anxiety and trouble." But God has provided us with an answer; in and through Christ we have access to a source of divine comfort and a reason for being encouraged. "Take heart," Jesus said, "I have overcome the world."

And elsewhere Scripture says: "You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you (Is. 26:3)." But our attention is fragmented and our trust wavers.

Yet we have this ongoing invitation: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Phil: 6-7).

Where Scripture itself uses the word "comfort," it is not simply about being soothed, but conveys the idea of someone coming alongside to fortify someone else against difficulties. So, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction" (2 Cor. 1:3)!