“You can be sure that I will be with you always. I will continue with you until the end of time.”

The words of our verse for today were spoken by Jesus to His disciples on a mountain in Galilee after His resurrection. Although He would soon be leaving them bodily at His ascension into heaven, he promised them that He would still be with them.

No doubt Jesus’ words were a source of great comfort to the disciples on the day He spoke to them. Indeed, they have been a source of great comfort to all of Jesus’ disciples throughout the ages. Although Jesus had foretold that the kingdom of God would victoriously advance over the whole earth (Acts 1:8), He had also foretold of the tough times that would be ahead for His disciples (John 15:20-21). There would be times of persecution and distress.

Jesus’ first point in our verse is that He is not with us just sometimes, but all the time. He is not just with us when the going is good. He is with us all the time. When the times are tough, Jesus is there with us every bit as much as when the times are good. We don’t have to wonder about that. We don’t have to worry about that. Jesus will be there for us when we need Him most, and He will help us to go through what we have to go through. He will help us to overcome what needs to be overcome.

Jesus’ second point is that His continuance with us will be there “until the end of time.” This phrase is best understood as indicating that He will be with us until the end of the present evil age. No doubt Jesus will be with us forever, but our great need for His presence will be most acute during the evil of the present age, and His words were meant to address that fact.

Today, you will have to face everything you will have to face—the good and the bad. You will have to face it, but you will not have to face it alone. Jesus will be there with you to help you. You can count on Him, you can depend on Him, and you can rest in His presence.

Take heart, then, and go forth today with the sure knowledge that you are not alone.

By John Huisman, Friend of Bible League International