LET NOT YOUR HEART BE TROUBLED - DON'T WORRY

Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled

 

John 14  Part 1, Avoiding the Temptation to Worry

Intro:

There are many very familiar verses in John 14 chapter. I hope the insights shared will both remind you of things the Lord has worked in your hearts and perhaps to see them from a different perspective. I pray this helps you apply what Jesus says to your daily life and growing relationship with the Father.

I counted 20 times where Jesus uses the word FATHER in John 14 (skim
the chapter and  see if I missed any, also get an overview of the whole chapter before we dig into it piece by piece.). So much repetition indicates the high importance of His relationship with the Father. It was the source of His breakthrough in the many adverse situations during His time on Earth. When we take the effort to get quiet in His presence, we’ll hear the tick, tick, tick of God’s heart. The clock spring is the love of the Father for the Son and for people. This will bring great peace to our hearts.

 

John chapter 14  starts out with a most encouraging two part verse,

John 14:1   “Let not your heart be troubled;

you believe in God, believe also in Me.

 

That first phrase is a loving commandment. To rephrase, you are not to let worry get to the heart level!! There are many life situations that are matters of great concern and it is too easy to let that concern cross the line into worry. Worry quickly becomes fear and the Bible frequently admonishes us not to fear. I grew up in a Jewish home and often heard, “A Jewish mother has the right to worry.” That is not true. Think of the difference of how people act when gripped with worry, fear and panic versus coping with a stressful situation with level- headed concern.

In the natural, human, worldly way of thinking, this command seems impossible to keep in all situations. It took me a long time to learn and implement the lesson that as Christians we can look at the stressful situation, look at difficult or desperate situations and declare, “BUT GOD.”

1 Corinthians 10:13   No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

Jesus defined that “way of escape” in the second part of John 14:1, “you believe
in God, believe also in Me.” It’s the lesson Peter learned when he got out of the boat to walk to Jesus on the water. His frame of reference shifted from doing what Jesus told him to do, to the stormy sea he was on. With attention on the stressful situation (i.e. the waves and wind), Peter’s worry turned to panic very quickly. Let us always keep our eyes on Jesus and never give place to worry and fear. Jesus spent time alone with His Father and was consequently always victorious over fear.

I have a confession to make. I have a heart condition that required a 2^nd procedure to fix the problem. The temptation to fear was there, BUT GOD!!! I’ll turn 70 in a couple of months, leaving me with at least 10 years to accomplish all the Lord has given me to accomplish. This problem can’t prevent that. I take this way of escape: I choose to follow God’s process to deal with the negative emotions that want control,

Philippians 4:6   Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;

7   and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

King David brings out this principle so beautifully in many places. Psalm 42 leapt off the page during my “breakfast with Jesus” one morning and Psalm 43 the next. The Psalms are such great stress relief.  I like to read through them about once a year.

Psalm 42:5 and 11, and again in Psalm 43:5   Why are you cast down, O my soul?

And why are you disquieted within me?

Hope in God; For I shall yet praise Him,

The help of my countenance and my God.

Repetition, as always, represents high importance. The Psalmist is frequently distraught throughout this great book, but he always demonstrates the way from that to the peace and joy of the Lord. Notice that he talks to himself. Once we recognize a problem in our spirit we must always do likewise. OH, what victory comes from verbal declarations. They cause great things to happen in our hearts as we hear ourselves declare things like this very partial list:

Ø Of the goodness of God,

Ø rebuking the enemy who is trying to trip you up, by saying

“SHUT UP DEVIL, GET OUT OF MY WAY!!”

Ø Confess Scriptures that describe what is really going on

Ø Whatever else starts pouring from your heart

The expression in caps comes out of my mouth quite often. Just remember it is only uttered to the enemy of our soul.

In Conclusion, let me remind you of the verse that started this lesson, it reveals an important focus of What Makes Jesus Tick is our walking in what it says.

John 14:1   “Let not your heart be troubled;

   you believe in God, believe also in Me.

The key to how to not let your heart be troubled is found in the direction and promise quoted from Philippians 4:6-7

Prayer: OH that God’s people would consistently yield to that peace of God and not to worry. That we would always just take the time to wait in His Presence, experience that peace of heart and mind that only comes that way, and then begin to intercede for others with fervent prayer. May we always realize that our troubles are insignificant compared to what others are going through and earnestly pray for one another, pray for supernatural healing of spirit, soul and body. Lord, help us to hear the tick, tick, tick of the Father’s heart every day so that we can walk in and demonstrate that incomprehensible peace of God in all situations. Amen.