"Let not your hearts be troubled"-
John 14:1 Jesus talk to His disciples, and reiterates that it was best for Him
to go. He was leaving to make a place for them. As He prepared His best friends
for His departure, He tells them, “And if I go and prepare a place
for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may
be also.” –John 14:3
Being an ever loving and good shepherd, the
Messiah tells His best friends, that He will come again. In the face of
wickedness, like today’s headline news of Connecticut, I’m sure we all find it
hard not to ask ourselves, “Why? And what’s wrong with people?” and, although
there is no answer, I can say this…
“Let not your hearts be troubled.” The Lord continues to tell
His friends, “If
you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the
Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot
receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells
with you and will be in you. “I will not leave you as
orphans; I will come to you. Yet a little while and
the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also
will live. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. Whoever has my
commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my
Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” –John 14:15-21
He was leaving to prepare a house for them, and
coincidentally for us too. In the face of injustice, pain, and senseless crime,
it’s hard to think it was good for Jesus to go... But, let not your heart be
troubled. This is what happens when the heart of man is left to itself. It is
deceitful and wicked. [Jeremiah 17:9] Look to Him now, and grab hold of the
Helper, [The Holy Spirit] and know that one day, soon we pray [Revelation
22:17], our Savior will return and this whole series of anguish, pain, and
suffering will be behind us.
In this season we celebrate the birth of Christ,
our Savior and Redeemer. It’s very easy to be distracted by the hustle and
bustle and madness of shopping, to turn it into something it isn’t. But, this
event is just a reminder of how badly the earth is groaning for His return. He
came to bring salvation; soon, He comes to bring restoration. We will never
know peace on earth, until He returns to make the new earth. But, now, more
than ever, let’s fall facedown and pray for the lost, the hurting, the
suffering and for true focus of Him this Holiday.
My heart hurts for the families of all
involved, including those responsible for such pain. I know, people have mixed
feelings about that, but parents never think or raise their kids thinking that
they will one day do such atrocious evil. But the truth is, we all are capable
of such evil. So, let us pray. Pray hard. The world needs our Savior more than
anything/anyone else. The recent shootings in Oregon, Fullerton, and now
Connecticut, are only reminders of this fact.
The most encouraging part of this passage is
Jesus’ promise that “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” Those
are words I know I can bank on, because our Savior never lies [Numbers 23:19,
Hebrews 6:18, Titus 1:2].
I just want to encourage you to believe and
keep looking to Him as our hope! Because this world isn’t everything, it’s
merely a passing point.
Pray.
Pray Hard.
“Behold, you
have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is
as nothing before you. Surely all mankind
stands as a mere breath! Selah… Surely a man goes about as
a shadow! Surely for nothing they are in
turmoil; man heaps up
wealth and does not know who will gather! “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you.” –Psalm 39:5-7
Listening to nothing but the beating of my heart, in awe
that even amid the chaos, He still makes my heart beat… He truly does hold all
things together [Colossians 1:17] Sigh…
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