Tag: troubled

Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled

John 14-1 image

The YouTruth in John 14:1

“‘Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.'”

A troubled heart. I’m pretty sure you’ve had one of these. In fact, I’m pretty sure you’ve had one of these several times. You may be experiencing an ongoing “troubled heart condition.” If any of these statements is true about you (at least one them is surely true), Jesus has the remedy.

In this chapter of John’s gospel, Jesus is reassuring disciples with deeply troubled hearts. He’s been telling them that He is going to die, one of them is going to betray Him, and that one of them is going to deny he even knows Him. This is troubling news indeed! And then Jesus issues the encouragement above and lays before them the path to a trouble-free heart.

You believe.

This is your path to a trouble-free heart too. Believe in God. Believe in the One who created the universe and all that is in it: majestic mountain peaks, roiling oceans, birds in flight, peaceful evening breezes, all of it. Believe in the God that is eternal and outside His creation, not bound by the confines of space and time, but in all places at all times. Any trouble you may be facing, He saw coming before you were even born. He’s got it. He can handle it. He can guide you through it. Don’t let that trouble into your heart. It will do damage in there.

The path continues. Believe also in Jesus. Jesus is one quite familiar with trouble! He faced betrayal, denial, and a savage death on the cross. And despite these horrible troubles, He overcame them and sits at God’s right hand forever. Therefore, He can guide through your troubles too. He’s “been there, done that.”

God and Jesus are a package deal, part of the Triune Godhead. They are together. They completely know of your trouble, and know the way out of it. Believing in this, shuts and locks the door to your heart when trouble comes knocking.

Peace I Leave With You

John 14-27 imageThe YouTruth in John 14:27

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

Jesus spent a lot of time encouraging His disciples as the time of His death on the cross drew near. They were afraid of what would happen after Jesus was no longer with them. They had trouble making sense of it. The last thing they felt about the whole situation was peace.

Have you ever been wanting for peace in your life? Does your life seem chaotic and out of control at times? Is now one of those times? If you answered, “Yes,” to any of these questions (and I suspect you answered, “Yes,” to at least one of them), Jesus’ words to His disciples above are words He intends you to hear too.

Peace in life is such an elusive thing if you try to secure it by the world’s means. Worldly peace requires particular circumstances—quiet, security, favorable surroundings, the kind words of those around you, and so on. Jesus knows that you usually cannot control any of these things, just as He knew His disciples couldn’t back in the day. So Jesus does not give you peace as the world gives, and you can praise God for that! His peace originates in eternity, rockets into this world, penetrates through all of the world’s chaos, and takes up residence in your heart. What results is a heart free from fear and trouble, regardless of what the world surrounds you with.

Jesus left this peace just for you. Go into today knowing that this peace has made the trip from heaven and, with pin point accuracy, has landed square in the middle of your heart.