"Let not your heart be troubled...." Says Jesus in John 14:1, 27. Anyone out there have a troubled heart today? Troubled hearts can look like all sorts of different things. Worry. Fear. Insecurity. Doubt. Loneliness. Sometimes it's not our own troubles that get us down but it could be watching someone we love struggle. Oswald Chambers puts it this way, "Am I allowing anything to disturb my heart, or am I allowing any questions to come in which are unsound or unbalanced?" The phrase 'anything to disturb my heart' cut me to the quick as I realized that it's my doing. How often does my heart become disturbed - and I let it stay that way? Too often and by the littlest things sometimes and because of that, I allow the questions to come. Like "Does God know what He's doing?" or "Has God forgotten me/made a mistake?"
Chambers goes on to write, "Am I then hurting Jesus by allowing my heart to be troubled? If I believe in Jesus and His attributes am I living up to my belief?". When it comes right down to it, the question always is "Do I believe what I say I believe?", right? "Or do I believe what God says or don't I?"
It's true - if Jesus is all the Bible claims He is and if all His promises are true, then my heart has no need to be troubled. "I have to get to the point of the absolute and unquestionable relationship that takes everything exactly as it comes from Him." Yessss! Everything - from Him.
Over and over lately, I remind myself that it's all about God. Everything. The main thing for me to do is to "Love the Lord my God with all my heart, soul, and mind." Matt. 22:37 The main thing is not for me to worry about anything. The main thing is not for me to make something happen. The main thing is not for me to rescue someone I love from a challenging situation. The main thing is for me to be careful not to let anything distract my gaze from constantly being on Him. My relationship with Him is the main thing.
And when that's the main thing I have peace.
Friends, these are words that breathe life. And freedom. Not to mention peace. Isaiah confirms, "You will keep in perfect peace him (her) whose mind is steadfast because he (she) trusts in You."* When my gaze is firmly fixed on Jesus, I have no reason to fear or worry or be troubled. When my gaze is firmly fixed on Jesus, I feel loved. I am cared for. I am joyful. I realize that He called me to be in His family and to serve Him by performing the good works that He has planned for me to do with the help of His Holy Spirit. That was a loaded statement. Did you notice all the He and Him and His words and the lack of I words? Let's remember that He is the Creator of the earth and heavens and He is the Creator of you and of me. He's the One who is holding the world together. He's the One who is managing the kingdom calendar. Take a load off!
Let's take a minute this dreary Monday afternoon and refix our gaze. If your heart is troubled, name the thing that is causing you unrest. Then as a friend of mine would say, "Kick it to the curb!" Tell God what's troubling you and imagine Him taking it from you and saying, "I've got this." The main thing is that we focus all our attention on our relationship with Jesus. Not on having success at work. Not on our earthly relationships. Not on having a smooth, trouble free life. Let's get a little deeper than that. We need to be in His Word so we can recall His promises to us lest we be shaken when the strong winds blow. We've got a great BIG God who is for us. And if our God is for us, then who could ever stop us? How great is our God?
Girlfriends, yesterday with troubled heart, I turned to the Psalms for some encouragement. Changed my day and changed my mood. Opened up to Psalm 31 and never left. Didn't need to - my heart was flying with thanksgiving for who God is and how He feels about me. I could start listing them, but you don't have the time to keep reading my thoughts and you'll find the Scriptures are where the power to change are. So go see for yourselves - read some Psalms or look up the word "God" in your concordance and start looking up verses. I guarantee your heart will no longer be troubled. For extra measure, throw on a Chris Tomlin CD. He gets it :). Remember, God's got this....and God's got you. And it's so much safer in His hands. (and God's got that person you're worried about too) Believe Him!
quotes from My Utmost from His Highest by Oswald Chambers
* Isaiah 26:3
No comments:
Post a Comment