The Cure for a Troubled Heart
Scripture Reading: John 14:1-6
John 14 begins with Jesus saying, “Let not your hearts be troubled…” We can rejoice that isn’t the end of what Jesus said here. If that were all he said, it would be akin to me telling you, “Stop your worrying!” While that might be good advice, it isn’t helpful advice because it doesn’t give me any remedy for what ails me. In other words, we can’t stop our fretting by sheer force of the will. We need more.
Jesus gives us more. He gives us a way forward, a path out of the dark forest of foreboding danger where we cower in the shadows and tremble at every sound that echoes among the trees. He made an observation about His disciples: “You believe in God…” This was true, of course. These men weren’t atheists. But then he gives them the key to unlocking the door that would allow them to enter the house of peace: “Believe also in me.”
There is a lot to unpack there. First, Jesus is equating Himself and putting Himself on equal footing with God. We who are Christians are not surprised by that. We believe Jesus is the Second person of the Holy Trinity of God. But just in case someone might miss that, it is worth meditating on that implication of what Jesus commands.
Second, because Jesus is God, He is someone we can rest the weight of our lives and our eternal destinies on. Jesus isn’t just some religious guru with special insight that we might apply to our lives. Jesus is the One who created us. He is the One who holds our lives and destinies in His hands. He is telling us to rest in Him.
The cure for a troubled heart is faith, a faith that trusts in and rests in Jesus Christ as the Saving, Preserving, Faithful Lord.
