You may recognize those words from our Lord Jesus in the blog post title. They are found in the first part of John 14, and are spoken as Jesus was in the upper room, celebrating the Last Supper, instituting the Lord's Supper, and telling the disciples that they would be known by their love for one another. Later that night, He would be arrested, tried, and, the following morning, crucified on the cross.
Let not your hearts be troubled. There are times where my particular occupation carries the weight, not necessarily of my troubles, but that of other people. It includes their sorrows. It includes their sins. It includes damage that happens in relationships, through words, through assumptions, through actual hurtful actions, and the like.
It's kind of ironic to me that, as I came to blog today for the first time in a while, those were the words that popped up from a friend's blog that I follow. They were words that I needed to hear. I needed to be reminded that my heart doesn't need to be troubled. Even as I venture through the challenges of relationships between God's people, I need the reminder that my heart need not be troubled. God's got this.
That doesn't at all downplay my part in it. I still need to pray, still need to prepare for the conversations and discussions. I still need to strive to be faithful to what God designs for us as His people, especially as one to whom others guide their gazes to see Christian faith in action. Sometimes it causes sleepless nights. Sometimes it means dealing with things I would rather not deal with.
Yet, there is still something satisfying to see God's Word actually work when God's people follow it. Shock of shocks, it's as though God actually knows what He's talking about when He gives us His design and will for our lives. And that is a constant reminder that I need. Let not your heart be troubled.
Let not your hearts be troubled. There are times where my particular occupation carries the weight, not necessarily of my troubles, but that of other people. It includes their sorrows. It includes their sins. It includes damage that happens in relationships, through words, through assumptions, through actual hurtful actions, and the like.
It's kind of ironic to me that, as I came to blog today for the first time in a while, those were the words that popped up from a friend's blog that I follow. They were words that I needed to hear. I needed to be reminded that my heart doesn't need to be troubled. Even as I venture through the challenges of relationships between God's people, I need the reminder that my heart need not be troubled. God's got this.
That doesn't at all downplay my part in it. I still need to pray, still need to prepare for the conversations and discussions. I still need to strive to be faithful to what God designs for us as His people, especially as one to whom others guide their gazes to see Christian faith in action. Sometimes it causes sleepless nights. Sometimes it means dealing with things I would rather not deal with.
Yet, there is still something satisfying to see God's Word actually work when God's people follow it. Shock of shocks, it's as though God actually knows what He's talking about when He gives us His design and will for our lives. And that is a constant reminder that I need. Let not your heart be troubled.
No comments:
Post a Comment