Do not let your hearts be troubled. -John 14:1

There is a universal human reaction to impending crisis, uncertainty, trouble.  It seems almost as natural as breathing, but it is more dangerous than the most deadly disease.

Jesus instantly knew this insidious foe had invaded the ranks of the eleven.   It could rob them of any prospect of a happy life.   It threatened to incapacitate them, to reduce them to whimpering specimens of humanity.   If allowed to continue, it could destroy them, physically,  emotionally, and spiritually.

It takes as many forms as you can imagine. It attaches itself  to issues as simple as whether my hair is combed to is that pain in my stomach cancer, or what will happen to me when I die?

Some of us are almost better at it than any other human enterprise.  Daily we are bombarded with more food on which it feeds—more bad news about the economy: Italy’s economic crisis threatens US, jobs lost, causes of cancer, risks of  heart trouble, breakdown of families, troublesome news..

Some causes are not real but it was Keats who said, “Imaginary grievances have always been my torment more than real ones.”

What is this enemy?

It is worry.  Worry is a fear of the future.  It flourishes in a   world like this, among creatures like us.  It takes its toll—spend five minutes thinking about all the things that might go wrong today and see how it affects you, how you feel.

What does it mean to live in a world where things are always going wrong and when we are always going wrong?

If you were to identify five or six of best loved Bible passages of all time, John 14 would be one of them.  In it Jesus tells us how to avoid worry.

Don’t worry about how you will cope with life because  you have a helper, comforter, counselor, guide, advocate—the Holy Spirit.

Don’t worry about being alone.  Loneliness a major trait of our society and a major worry of humans.  It was Jean-Paul Sartre who  described hell as a place where one was “by himself.”

Jesus said  “We will make our home with you.”    “I am not deserting you.”

Don’t worry about your destiny because life has a happy ending for those who believe Jesus.  He is preparing a place for you—heaven.

One cardiologist, listed some complicate medical advice for avoiding stress:
rule # 1-“Don’t sweat the small stuff”
rule # 2-“Everything is small stuff”

Because the ending is happy we don’t need to worry.

“YOU BELIEVE IN GOD, ALSO BELIEVE IN ME!”

Filed under: The Journey |