Don't Let Your Hearts Be Troubled...

“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me...

I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.

If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is...

I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father...” - Jesus, John 14:1, 6-7, 12

Peace during instability.

All roads to God end at the feet of Jesus; who is the way, the truth, and the life. 

When we know Jesus we know God.

Jesus' followers will do amazing things.

Let's explore.

Peace From Trusting God

The night before evil and hell would be unleashed upon Jesus, he tells his disciples to not be troubled.

A lot of trouble was coming. Sounds impossible to not be troubled.

While the disciples would fail at this directive, scattering like scared rates, Jesus would model trust in God powerfully amid many horrors.

In the face of every horrible moment from the garden to the cross, Jesus trusts God.

It's his finishing work, and our openness to receive that unifying act allows God to apply his powerful restoration in us.

Here's how Oswald Chambers emphasizes this idea.

“How are we to get to the place where the mighty efficacy of the Lord’s life is ours?

As soon as we are willing to recognize that God condemned sin forever in the death of His Son. If we will accept His verdict and go to God just as we are, the Holy Spirit will apply the Atonement to us personally, and we will know with a knowledge that passes knowledge that we have been born again from above into the realm where Jesus lives, and all the marvelous efficacy of His life comes into our mortal frames.” - Biblical Ethics / The Moral Foundations of Life / The Philosophy of Sin: Ethical Principles for the Christian Life by Oswald Chambers 

First comes acknowledgment and then the gift is received. We are reborn!

And then, we begin to see the world as God sees it. As Christians, this is our prayer.

It's a small step for us that simply begins with acceptance.

"He came to make us holy. All He asks of us is that we acknowledge we are not right, then He will do all the rest: “Blessed are the poor in spirit” (Matthew 5:3)." - Oswald Chambers, Moral foundations

God does all the heavy lifting.

One way to metaphorically recognize how we can trust God is to think about a parent and their child. If your child has run away (or has been taken) what do you do? 

Whatever it takes to rescue them.

Even if they feel they don't deserve it. 

Even if it costs you everything.

That knowledge of God's love for us gives us a deep unshakable peace amid the scariest storms. He is there and he is pursuing us.

Discovering this love, found in the person of Jesus, may be your next step.

Jesus, the Way To God

What is Christianity?

“Christianity is being true to Jesus Christ.” - Oswald Chambers, Biblical Ethics

Who is Jesus?

The most important subsequent question is whether we embrace or resist Him. And that question determines whether we will become like him or unlike him (and eventually at odds with him). 

But don’t kid yourself, we’ll all resist Christ to some degree in some area of life, even us Christians.

And this is why grace is critical. It's the oxygen we need to endure His pursuit of us.

Growth

"Nothing else in the world matters but the kindness of grace, God's gift to suffering mortals." - Jack Kerouac

On the other side of grace is growth.

Growth comes from knowing God more and knowing ourselves (Through God’s eyes). 

This contrast between our loving God and our broken self helps us to recognize and embrace our dependence on him.

But it’s a terrifying prospect to embrace how little control we have when it comes to life and death. What transcends both?

We face the overwhelming question of why is there something rather than nothing. And what has made this something?

God always existed. And because of that, he created this universe and for us to join in that community of the Trinity. It was an external manifestation of His love that we were born. 

He transcends it all.

This mighty power is reassuring when things get scary.

“...it is the terrors of the dark night that drive us closer to the haven of unutterable security, the Lord Jesus Christ. No wonder God’s Book says, “The way of the unfaithful is hard” (Proverbs 13:15). Could God have made it more terrible than He has for people to go astray? Could He have put the danger signals more clearly than He has? The way is absolutely strewn with alarm signals; it is impossible to go wrong easily. Thus in new ways we learn the profound beauty of our Lord’s words: “Come to Me” (Matthew 11:28); “I am the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6).” - Oswald Chambers, Biblical Ethics

Jesus is the way.

If I’ve done my job right, in my writing work, I’ve pointed you to Jesus, and his work on the cross. And that message must pass from your head to your heart.

“You cannot get relief simply by figuring out your idols intellectually. You have to actually get the peace that Jesus gives, and that only comes as you worship.” - Timothy Keller

Greater Works: Jesus' Power in Us

I've always been stunned by this revelation.  Greater works than he!

But it is He who is working in us, and he does his great works through us.

This quote from Jordan Peterson is a negative contrast to this idea. The way we live is evidence of the truth we believe.

"You aren't sufficiently transformed for me to believe that you believe in God... or that you believe the story that you're telling me... the way you're living is not sufficient testament to the truth." - Jordan B. Peterson

When others look at us, what do they see? Is it a profound testament or a decrepit one?

If we're lacking, we need not strive to fix that, rather it's an indication for us to let go. When we let go, God can do amazing things through us, even when we're weak and vulnerable.

We could aspire to be like Christ empowered by the Holy Spirit, as we see him traverse the suffering of the passion.

His light will guide the way.

“Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” - John 8:12 NLT

As long ago as it was, the work of the cross is a profound moment for us today. It flipped the world upside down. And God's spirit will do the same with our lives if we allow him and ask for it.

“The cross is where the great story of God and creation, focused on the strange story of God and Israel and then focused still more sharply on the personal story of God and Jesus, came into terrible but life-giving clarity. The crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth was a one-off event, the one on behalf of the many, the one moment in history on behalf of all others through which sins would be forgiven, the powers robbed of their power, and humans redeemed to take their place as worshippers and stewards, celebrating the powerful victory of God in his Messiah and so gaining the Spirit's power to make his kingdom effective in the world.” - NT Wright, The day the Revolution Began, pg 416