Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me

“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me”—John 14:1

Every person who now reads the words of this message is fully aware that there are so many things that happen to us causing our hearts to become heavy. We are certainly aware of the illnesses and diseases that strike the human frame causing pain and suffering. Most, perhaps all of us, have stood by and watched as those I have loved dearly have shed these earthly bonds bringing the deepest, bitterest agony to our souls. We are all very much aware that sometimes the trials, burdens and cares of this life seem almost too heavy to bear. And now, I hear my Lord as he says, “Let not your heart be troubled”. I hear Paul tell us to rejoice always (Phil. 4:4, 1 Thess. 5:16). Then I hear Paul again as he tells us, “All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28). Given the trials of life we must go through, how can this be possible?

My friends, it is possible because as faithful children of God with a trusting faith in him we know that we have an anchor for our souls, one that is both sure and steadfast (Heb. 6:19). When those storm clouds gather, when it seems that darkness envelopes us we don’t have to be afraid because our souls are fastened to a rock that cannot be moved—THAT ROCK IS THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.  We simply focus on that rock knowing that the end of our endurance and trusting faith in God will bring about the greatest victory imaginable.

The circumstances of our lives are ever changing; one moment all is well, the next moment suffering enters. It just does not matter what the circumstances are because the source of our comfort never changes. There is never a moment in our lives that we cannot find that comfort in the exceedingly precious promises of God if we will but seek to find it (Rom. 8:35-39, Heb. 4:16, Phil. 4:6-7, 1 Pet. 5:7, Isa. 12:2-3, Heb. 13:5).

Will we ever be sad? The answer is yes. Will we ever have a heavy heart? Again the answer is yes but it is our trusting faith in God and his word that makes those moments of sadness and heaviness of heart only momentary pauses in our lives and keeps our hearts from being troubled for very long. The most profound statement of the faith we should have, yea must have in God, is found in the first verse of Psalms 23: ‘The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want”. God will take care of you and if you don’t believe this then you will be most miserable as you make your way through this life.

Charles Hicks