What Is Troubling You?
A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones. (Proverbs 14:30)
When Jesus was telling the disciples that He would soon be leaving them to go back up to be with the Father, the disciples were less than thrilled to hear the news. They struggled with what their leader’s departure meant for their lives, their future, and their protection. How would they make it now that their master was no longer with them? Who would be there to answer their questions, to calm their fears, to help them defeat their enemies? How would they be able to conjure up the strength and the courage to press on and fight on if the one who they left all to follow is nowhere to be found?
Despite all of these questions, Jesus’ instruction to them then and to us now was this: don’t allow the external troubles and challenges you face to manifest into an internal burden that affects your present and future decisions. Jesus did not want the reality of His departure to cause and create toxic levels of stress that would trouble and overwhelm their lives.
I can’t help but see how relevant this set of circumstance is for many of us today. The fact of the matter is that there are many of us who are suffering from troubled hearts not simply due to the circumstances of life, but by the unhealthy ways in which we have tried to handle those problems (worrying, rehearsing negativity, drinking, avoidance, overeating, overspending, etc.)
These responses mask underlying issues and they end up exacerbating our problems. Rather than making things better, they only make things worse.
So let me ask you something. What is troubling you right now? What is the issue about which you’re worrying that has begun to overwhelm you and is controlling your life? Is it growing up without a father? Is it the fact that you are single and all your friends are married? Is it past abuse? Is it guilt or jealousy? Have you allowed a past breakup to permanently fracture your heart and prevent you from falling in love again?
Whatever it is, Jesus doesn’t want you to let any of this get into the driver’s seat of your heart and take control of your life. Instead, He wants you to trust Him by placing your heart in His hands and allowing His love and peace to overwhelm you more than anything or anyone else in this world.
When Jesus was telling the disciples that He would soon be leaving them to go back up to be with the Father, the disciples were less than thrilled to hear the news. They struggled with what their leader’s departure meant for their lives, their future, and their protection. How would they make it now that their master was no longer with them? Who would be there to answer their questions, to calm their fears, to help them defeat their enemies? How would they be able to conjure up the strength and the courage to press on and fight on if the one who they left all to follow is nowhere to be found?
Despite all of these questions, Jesus’ instruction to them then and to us now was this: don’t allow the external troubles and challenges you face to manifest into an internal burden that affects your present and future decisions. Jesus did not want the reality of His departure to cause and create toxic levels of stress that would trouble and overwhelm their lives.
I can’t help but see how relevant this set of circumstance is for many of us today. The fact of the matter is that there are many of us who are suffering from troubled hearts not simply due to the circumstances of life, but by the unhealthy ways in which we have tried to handle those problems (worrying, rehearsing negativity, drinking, avoidance, overeating, overspending, etc.)
These responses mask underlying issues and they end up exacerbating our problems. Rather than making things better, they only make things worse.
So let me ask you something. What is troubling you right now? What is the issue about which you’re worrying that has begun to overwhelm you and is controlling your life? Is it growing up without a father? Is it the fact that you are single and all your friends are married? Is it past abuse? Is it guilt or jealousy? Have you allowed a past breakup to permanently fracture your heart and prevent you from falling in love again?
Whatever it is, Jesus doesn’t want you to let any of this get into the driver’s seat of your heart and take control of your life. Instead, He wants you to trust Him by placing your heart in His hands and allowing His love and peace to overwhelm you more than anything or anyone else in this world.
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