Don't Let Your Heart Be Troubled

It stood out so plainly this morning as I was reading chapters 13 to 16 in the Gospel of John.

Do not let your heart be troubled. . .  John 14:1a

Reading the news this morning, talking to church members, visiting with people in the community, I see a lot of troubled hearts. Hearts are troubled with anxiety over the politics of our nation. Hearts are troubled over our nation's relationships with other nations. Hearts are troubled with marital issues and by scary words like "cancer." And into the midst of all these troubles and more, Jesus speaks these very direct words: do not let your heart be troubled.

We should all take notice that these words imply that we have a choice. The troubling of our hearts is not a foregone conclusion. We are not enslaved by it. Jesus implies that we have a choice - "do not let."

And then he gives some resources to help us "not let" our hearts be troubled.

Believe in God, believe also in Me. . .  John 14:1b

Faith becomes the shield against a troubled heart. We are trust in the providence of God at this point. We are trusting that God is greater than whatever troubling circumstance arises in our life. We are believing that God has got hold of us and that God will not let us go no matter what comes. God is greater than politics. God is greater than national and international conflict. God is greater than disease and disability. God is greater than cancer. God is greater than death. To believe in God and to believe in Jesus is to trust in their providence and their goodness and to see the circumstances of life through the lens of their sufficiency.