Are you Troubled?

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Scripture:

John 14:1 ¶ “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me.

Observation:

We get in on little snippets of conversation between Jesus and his disciples. These are intimate conversations regarding the current state of affairs and the future which they would be facing. Jesus knew that there would be circumstances in which their hearts would be troubled. There would be times when they would worry and struggle over what lay ahead and yet, he told them not to allow their hearts to go there. Instead, they were to believe in God. God, the Father of Jesus. Therefore there was faith involved, a faith in Jesus as their personal friend, but also as the one who would bring them into fellowship with God. Putting all of this into perspective, there was no need for their hearts to be troubled, even in the midst of difficulties. In light of eternity, hearts can be at peace.

Application:

There are days when it certainly feels like trouble surrounds us, or maybe even is coming at us with lightening speed. It feels like we are trying to dodge the bullets coming fast and furiously in our direction. I know that the disciples must have felt that way. Things were winding down in terms of Jesus’ life and ministry here on earth. One day he was popular, the next the people wanted to kill him. Can you imagine the emotional turmoil in which the disciples found themselves?

What emotional turmoil do we find ourselves in today? Everywhere there are friends and loved ones who are hurting. At breakfast this morning I ran into Phyllis Perkins Howard. Her husband passed away in his sleep yesterday morning. And yet, life has to go on. This week she will find herself organizing and planning many details and yet, the Lord says to not let your hearts be troubled. Bless you, Phyllis! May the Lord’s peace wash over you for I know you believe in God and you believe in his Son.

Friends are posting pictures all over Facebook this week of children heading off to school. Now there’s a place where our hearts can be troubled. I think of all the complicated factors that go into sending our little ones (and big ones too) off to school. It’s not just about the education they are to receive, but the socialization that needs to occur. How will they fit in? How will they learn to react? Will they have friends? Will they be influenced by the right people? Can I really let them go to that place all day long?

There are other friends whose arms are empty this week. There should be a child in the home. There should be one to send off to school, but for a myriad of reasons the child is not there. Hearts are troubled and they literally ache at the emptiness and pain that is felt.

There are the friends fighting illness, physical, emotional and mental. Hearts are troubled when there are nights and days where no peace is found.

There are strangers who are being persecuted and whose hearts are terrified. They are looking on in horror at what one human might do to another.

And yet, Jesus says, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” He doesn’t just make the statement but then gives the solution. Yes, the words are easier than the actual action but he challenges us in the depths of trouble to believe in God and to believe in him. It may not take away the difficulties, but it can bring peace to the troubled heart. The mysteries of God are greater than we can comprehend. What we see happening around us these days is overwhelming. Yet, I want to believe in God. I want my trust to be in him. I can’t explain away things for sometimes there are no explanations, but I can have faith. And so we press on and ask God to bring peace to our troubled hearts.

For you all, my friends, and for those I don’t know, I breathe a prayer for you that you will sense the peace of the Father through the indwelling presence of his Son by Holy Spirit in your lives today.

Prayer:

Lord, may you bring peace to troubled hearts today.  Amen.

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