Psalm of Praise: Psalms 62:7-8
My salvation and my honour depend on God;
he is my mighty rock, my refuge.
Trust in him at all times, you people;
pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.
Bible Reading: John 14:1-3
Jesus said, "Do not let your hearts be troubled.
You believe in God; believe also in me.
My Father's house has many rooms;
if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come back and take you to be with me so that you also may be where I am.
A Reflection:
‘Do not let your hearts be troubled’ said Jesus to his disciples at their last supper together when, after three years together, they were dealing with the anxiety of losing their close friend and Rabbi.
I love these words. They are often spoken at a funeral service when many are grieving, dealing with loss and maybe thinking about their own mortality and anxious about the future. Jesus words, ‘Do not let your heart be troubled’ seem to echo across the centuries and speak reassuringly and powerfully into the situation.
In a world coping with economic hardship, wars, pandemics and potential environmental disaster these words are no less appropriate and no less powerful. Into the anxiety of modern life, Jesus says to each of us, ‘Do not let your heart be troubled.’
I wonder if there is anything going on in your life at the moment where you need to hear these words for you, ‘Do not let your heart be troubled’.
But this is not just a foundless statement along the lines of, ‘There, there, don’t worry’, this is a statement based on the foundation of faith. When Jesus says, ‘Do not let your hearts be troubled’ he follows it with, ‘You believe in God; believe also in me.’
Many billions of people believe in God today. They may not believe in God the same way that you or I do, they may give him a different name or they may not be able to put a name to the god that they believe is ‘somewhere out there’, but they never-the-less believe in God. To all of these billions, Christian or otherwise, Jesus says, ‘You believe in God, believe also in me’.
Belief in the sovereignty of Jesus is the route to an untroubled heart and an antidote to anxiety in this life. And, when this life is over, belief in the resurrected Jesus means that he is now preparing a place in heaven for us so that we too can be where he is.
Do not let your heart be troubled, you believe in God, put your faith and trust in Jesus today.
Pray:
Lord Jesus, in all the anxieties that trouble my heart, help me to put my trust in you.
Amen
The Lord’s my Shepherd, and I will trust
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