Friday, March 21, 2008

Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled ...

Do not let your hearts be troubled.
trust in God; trust also in me."
- John 14:1


It's the expression of Jesus that puzzles us. We've never seen his face like this.
Jesus smiling, yes.
Jesus weeping, absolutely.
Jesus stern, even that.

But Jesus anguished? Cheeks streaked with tears? face flooded in sweat? Rivulets of blood dripping from his chin? You remember the might.

"Jesus... kneeled down and prayed, 'Father, if you are willing, take away this cup of suffering. But do waht you want, not what I want'...His sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground". (Luke 22:41-44 NCV).

Jesus was more than anxious; he was afraid. How remarkable that Jesus felt such fear. How how kind that he told us about it. We tend to do the opposite. Gloss over our fears. Cover them up. Keep our sweaty hands in our pockets, our nausea and dry mouths a secret. Not so with Jesus. We see no mask of strength.

"Father, if you are willing, take away this cup of suffering." The first one to hear of his fear is his Father. He could have gone to his mother. He could have confided to his disciples. He could have assembled a prayer meeting. All would have been appropriate, but none was his priority. How did Jesus endure the terror of the crucifixion? He went first to the father with his fears. He modeled the words of psalm 56:3 "When I am afraid, I put my trust in You" (NLT)

Do the same with yours. Don't avoid life's Garden of Gethsemane. Enter them. Just don't enter them alone. And while there, be honest. Pounding the ground is permitted. Tears are allowed. And if you sweat blood, you won't be the first. Do what Jesus did; open your heart.

***

For God so love the world
that He gave His Only Begotten Son
That whosoever believes in Him
Shall not perish
but have an everlasting love
John 3:16

***

* The devotion above is taken from the book 3:16 by Max Lucado

2 comments:

Sister Honey Bunch/Judi maloney said...

Wonderful wonderful post. Thank you!

Anonymous said...

This is a timely reminder and a stengthening verse - Jn 14:1, which I just used to encourage a sister who has been stressed out by work commitments and falling sick.