Five Things You Know and Need to Remember When Trouble Comes
My Chickadees, we have read and heard Jesus give the “Let not your heart be troubled” (John 14:1-3) directive numerous times in the Bible, but if you’re like me, you want to tell Jesus that it’s easier said than done. When the reality of life comes crashing in on you from every side and your heart feels so heavy you can hardly breathe, it takes effort to heed to the directive, “Let not your heart be troubled.”
I know, I’ve been there – recently in fact. It takes a shifting of your thinking to stand on what you know in the midst of what you see and feel. When every report coming to you is worse than the one before, it feels like you’re having a Job moment, but it is those very times in which we must stop and stand on what we know.
Let me help you with five things that you already know, but sometimes lose sight of in the midst of the storm.
1. First, you know that God is faithful, and if He said it’s His plan to “prosper you and not to harm you; to give you a hope and a future,” (Jeremiah 29:11), you know since He can’t lie, He has to do that. I know, the question becomes, but when? God’s timing is not our timing, but He’s always right on time. If He said we will reap a harvest in due season IF we faint not (Galatians 6:9), then hold on, harvest time is coming.
2. Second, you know that He loves you unconditionally, even when you mess up. If we call on Him, He steps into our messes and cleans us up so that we become “meet for the Master’s use” (2 Timothy 2:21). I once heard a minister say that the God we serve cleans His fish after He catches them. You know His love is steadfast because He said nothing can separate you from His love (Romans 8:38-39). NOTHING.
3. Third, you know He can do the impossible. Perhaps, this is the reason that He instructs us not to judge by the appearance of things. No matter how difficult the situation appears to be, scripture tells us that, “ALL THINGS are possible with God,” (Matthew 19:26). Since there is nothing too hard for God, and all things are possible with Him, when we cast our cares upon Him, we must trust that He’s got it and He’s working it out for our good and His glory.
4. The fourth thing you know is that He will never leave you or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5), and if He doesn’t deliver you from the situation, He’ll step in and walk with you through it, just like He did the last time your heart was hurting and heavy and you did not see how you were going to make it through. He is faithful and He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. No matter how dark the night is, morning is coming.
5. Last, and perhaps the most important thing to remember, is that you know you are Hs child and He promised not to deny you any good thing (Psalms 84:11). Like with any parent, God cannot or will not spare His children from every attack by the enemy or the choices that they make, but His love draws us in and He bandages our wounds so that we heal in a whole new way. The Bible tells us that He heals the brokenhearted (Psalm 147:3). Let Daddy into your broken heart and watch Him exchange beauty for ashes.
In those Job moments – which sometimes end up being Job seasons – let’s choose to remember that if our Daddy allowed it, He plans to use it for our good and His glory. We are going to come out on the other side better than before; and as we are going through, let’s remember this temporary setback is a set UP for a comeback. This time, when you come back, it will be with the lessons you’ve learned in the valley and a testimony about how you overcame the test.
“Let not your heart be troubled,” really means God’s got you, He’s keeping you, and this too shall pass. In closing, My Chickadees, I leave you with a poem the Holy Spirit inspired me to write. (I have created a refrigerator magnet and a greeting card bearing these words.) The poem is entitled “Faith’s Plea”.
Lord,
Let me rise up, look up
and see the glory of you in everything.
Let me see you when it’s hard to see you.
Let me feel you when it seems that
It’s only pain and despair in my repertoire
Of emotions.
Let me hear you in the sweet whisper of your peace when my soul is troubled;
and let me rest in the joy of knowing, you are with me,
and this too, shall pass.
Peace and Blessings,
Gail