Finding Hope In A Troubled World

An Untroubled New Year 2020 - 2021

- Read John 14:1-7

Don’t let your heart be troubled. Don’t let your “heart”, from the Greek, kardia your heart, your thoughts and feelings. Don’t let your thoughts or feelings be troubled.

Let me ask you, “How’d you do with that this past year?” I have to admit, I don’t think I did very well. I have been troubled, I have been upset, I have been worried about a great many things.

I have worried about the Covid stuff. I haven’t honestly worried about getting it much, though I have had folks I know who have died from it, and family members who have had it. I haven’t been troubled about getting it, though I understand how some with medical conditions could be; but I have worried about how we, as a church, can operate and how we could hold Christmas in the Country without anyone getting it. I was troubled by the way, in many states and cities, government has seized upon Covid as an excuse to close down churches, or at least, greatly curtail their work and ministry; while allowing casinos, and liquor and marijuana stores to remain open. That has troubles me.

I worried, I was troubled, trying to figure out how to operate the church while not doing anything which might cause the government to get into our business, or seek to close us down.

I worried, I was troubled about our community, and the businesses you and I have seen closing down, and the people out of work, while many in our government, still drawing their paychecks, have turned a blind eye to people losing their jobs or businesses and some, everything they have spent a lifetime building. I was troubled.

I was troubled when elected officials abandoned whole sections of their cities, and the businesses and people living there, and allowed violence and anarchy to run the streets.

I was troubled by people tearing down statues, attempting to erase the past, pointing out our failures while ignoring the success we have had in this God-blessed country. Have we, as a nation and a people, made mistakes in the past, acted with prejudice and disregard for others? Yes we have. But we have also built a nation where people of every color, every religion, and every nationality have succeeded, and prospered. We have built a nation that is the first to respond when there is tragedy, or disaster around the world, with volunteers, materials, and compassion. Our nation has stood beside other people and countries and fought back Hitler and liberated whole continents, asking nothing in return and actually rebuilding those countries and allowing them to charge us extra for the goods they produced while their economies were being rebuilt. Our people and our nation has stood against the advance of murdering, godless communism, shouldering a disproportionate amount of the expense of the world’s defense because we believed it to be the right thing to do.

I was troubled, angered, when people who have never known a day of hunger or want in their lives, complained about the country that has provided them with so much.

I was angered and troubled by the double standard many of our politicians have established. In the interest of public safety, ya’ll shouldn’t get together with your families, or travel or eat in a restaurant, or go get your hair done, but it’s ok for me, because I’m important.

Gladys and I, and many of you, have tried to set aside some money to prepare for our retirement. Right now, our politicians are ignoring basic laws of economics, printing and spending money like it is going out of style, and with every dollar spent and printed, they make what you and I have scrimped and saved, often at great sacrifice, worth less and less. It has troubled me.

How about this week? Anything trouble you about this week? Anything bother you about having our nation’s capital stormed? Anything bother you about congress again talking about impeaching the president? Anything bother you about Twitter and other social media outlets shutting down the president and other conservative’s accounts so they are unable to publicly respond or to give their perspective?

There is a social media site called parlor, somewhat similar to twitter, where Christians and conservatives have gone to share views and opinions, fearing censorship on other outlets. This week, for a while, Microsoft made it impossible for that media outlet to be used on the phones they support. Conservatives and Christians are being censored. Does that bother you?

In the midst of all of this, our study of the book of John takes us here, in God’s timing, where we find Jesus saying, “Don’t let your heart be troubled.” Really? Don’t let your heart be troubled?