A Troubled Heart

John 14:1
Jesus, the Way to the Father
"Don't let your hearts be troubled.”

In my last post I talked about what to do when you are anxious and stressed out. Today I would like to continue this discussion with a short discussion based on a devotional I received today from Charles Stanley.

Is there anything troubling your heart right now? What is it that has a grip on your heart and causing you to lose sleep? The list could be endless. It could be the thought of fighting the crowds and completing your holiday shopping on time. It could be a health issue that you or someone important is going through. It could be a relationship that you are in that is causing you stress. Any countless number of things could be causing you to lose sleep.

Jesus tells us to not let our hearts be troubled but this statement by Him alone doesn’t change our feelings or emotions as we go through challenging situations. Mr. Stanley says that our interpretation of this phrase has been skewed by the limited English language. A more accurate understanding of this phrase uttered by Jesus in John 14:1 is, “Be troubled no longer.” Jesus isn’t saying that we are to deny our feelings or emotions in difficult circumstances and just put on a happy face like everything is alright. He is telling us that we shouldn’t let our feelings and emotions overwhelm us or conquer us. In my last post I stated that our emotions are slaves to our thoughts. Yes, we will experience difficult times, but by fixing our thoughts on the promises of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit, we can endure struggles with the peace of Christ promised further on in John 14.

27 "I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don't be troubled or afraid.

In order to move from stress and anxiety to this peace and tranquility we must immediately focus on the Lord and not on the circumstance. We must trust Him to help us through whatever it is that has our hearts all knotted up. We must spend time in the Word so that when these trying circumstances come, and they will come, we will have the ammunition necessary to combat the lies of the enemy with the perspective of Jesus Christ. It’s when we look at things from His perspective on the problem and seek His promises that we will have victory in these times.

The thing that makes all of this work, the one thing that ties it all together, is obedience. After we believe Jesus we must be obedient in the circumstance. You cannot have the gift of peace He offers without obedience. This is where I get tripped up all of the time. I get anxious over my finances even though Jesus promises to take care of me, after all he takes care of the birds of the air and the lilies of the fields, right? I know His promises concerning my finances. If I am faithful in my giving and prudent with the money He has allowed me to have than He will bless me beyond measure. When I start to get anxious I seek out the many promises that Christ has made concerning my bank account but the problem is I never remain obedient or consistent in my obedience for any amount of time. Because of this the peace Jesus promises has eluded me.

So when trouble hits your heart like a sledgehammer remember:
• focus immediately on the Lord
• read Scripture to gain His perspective
• believe!!
• be obedient
• present your anxiousness to the Lord in prayer, not just with a request that He take it away but also with thanks for His strength to endure them.

Have a great day and God bless you!