Trouble In My Way
Scripture: Mark 4:35-41; John 14:1-6
Introduction
When I was growing up, the church choir that I sung in sang several songs that dealt with troubles. One of the songs that one of my favorites was “Trouble In My Way”. That song, even from the time that I was a pre-teen, always ministered to my spirit. I cannot tell you why except I guess I used to think I had a lot of troubles when I was a child. As young as I was, I knew, based on songs like these, that no matter what I faced God would be there to take care of me. Let me share with you a few of the words of this song since some of you may not know it. For those of you who do, I am sure that this will bring back some memories. As the leader sung the words, the choir would repeat what the leader said to make a truly uplifting song.
“Trouble in my way (trouble in my way), I have to cry sometimes (I have to cry sometimes), trouble in my way (trouble in my way), I have to cry sometimes (I have to cry sometimes), I laid awake at night (I laid awake at night), But that’s all right (that’s all right), for I know that Jesus, (Jesus, He will fix it) after a while (after a while).”
Another song that we used to sing was “Soon I Will Be Done”. This song was sung slowly and I remember the version sung by Mahalia Jackson. She sung this song with such emotions that you knew it was coming from deep within her. Here are a few of the words:
“Soon I will be done with the troubles of this world, troubles of this world, the troubles of this world; Soon I will be done, with the troubles of this world, I’m going home to live with God. No more weeping and a wailing, no more weeping and a wailing, no more weeping and a wailing, going home to live with God.”
As you can see, the word expressed the feeling that although we are experiencing troubles on this side, the day will come when troubles will cease. There will be no crying nor sorrow for we will be in the presence of the Lord forever. These are songs that were sung in the Church. There are also secular songs that deal with troubles. Two classes of music that I am sure many of you are familiar with are the Blues and Country music. There is nothing like listening to the Blues when you are depressed or feeling down. Remember the song “They Call It Stormy Monday”? When you listen to that song, it tells you that Monday is stormy, Tuesday is just as bad, Wednesday is worse, and all Thursday is all so sad. Now if you are feeling bad on Monday and you listen to this song, you really have nothing to look forward to for the rest of the week. Blues and Country music can add to the deepness of your feelings of depression if you listen to them during those times. Ever heard the saying “misery loves company”? When you are feeling down and you’re listening to the Blues it is like the song understands what you are feeling and/or going through. In my personal opinion, the worse thing you can do when you are feeling down is listen to Blues and/or Country music. Yes it may help you understand that others know what you are going through, but it does nothing to lift you up.
In this message this morning, I want you to take a step back and ask yourself two questions: “If I am serving God and doing what He said to do, why do I have troubles?” and “What do I have to do to be blessed?” These questions may not seem to relate to each other but for a lot of people they are related. Many have been taught that when we do what God tells us to do and we are in His will, we won’t have any trials. We have also been taught that when we obey God we will have success in everything that we do. Still there are others who will tell you that you must do things to earn God’s blessings and if you are not, you will have troubles because you are cursed. Within these teachings it becomes clear that if you are blessed you do not have troubles and if you are having troubles you cannot be blessed. But when we look at the lives of men and women in Scripture, being in God’s will didn’t necessarily mean they were always successful and free from trials. A life of success and no worries, trials or lack of them have little to nothing to do with our obedience to God. But our willing obedience to Him has everything to do with His ability to act on our behalf. This morning I want you to leave here knowing that based on your relationship with God, even when you are dealing with troubles, you are still blessed and you have the authority to rise above the troubles. Because of your relationship and fellowship with God you do not have to seek blessings, they will find you.
I. Trouble On The Waters
Mark 4:35-41 “On that day when evening came, He said to them, ‘Let us go over to the other side.’ Leaving the crowd, they took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was, and other boats were with Him. And there arose a fierce gale of wind and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up. Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion, and they woke Him and said to Him, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’ And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Peace, be still.’ And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. And He said to them ‘Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
Several of the disciples including Peter, Andrew, James and John were fishermen. As a fisherman in those days, as is now, they were taught to read the skies in order to forecast the weather. They would look at the clouds and the color of the sky and determine if a storm was approaching. Based on their knowledge of the sea, under normal circumstances, when Jesus asked them to cross by boat to the other side, they probably would not have gotten in that boat because of a “possible storm”. However, these were not normal circumstances. Jesus told them to get in the boat and cross over and they did so without question. Once they were out of the sea, a storm blew up and water started coming into the boat. Immediately the disciples panicked and ran to Jesus. Now picture Jesus being sound asleep while this storm is raging and the ship is rocking back and forth. When they woke Him up I can see Him yawning and asking them why they were waking Him. Immediately they asked Him if He cared that they were about to die. This is a key statement. They had been with Jesus long enough to know a little but not everything. Up until this time they had witnessed Him performing miracles, and they had knowledge that He could do something about their situation – they just did not realize what. So what they were really saying was “Jesus we are about to die unless you do something!” Jesus stood up and basically spoke to the wind and the waves. To the wind He say “peace” or “hush” and to the waves He said, “be still”. Immediately the winds ceased to blow and the waves were still. After He accomplished this He looked at His disciples and asked them “Do you have no faith?”
When we are experiencing troubles, that should be one of the questions we should ask ourselves. James Cleveland had an album out with a title song called “Where is your Faith?” In the song it talks about all of the trials and tribulations we experience and asked the question “Where is your Faith?” The disciple’s faith was shaken when they saw the waves coming over the ship. They knew Jesus could do something, but immediately they faith was shaken. I can imagine them thinking “You told us to come out here now do something!”
When we read this account and the outcome, two things stand out. The first thing is that although we may be following Jesus and doing exactly what He wants us to do, that does not mean that we will not experience troubles. The fact that we are serving God and following His directions actually increases our chances for trouble because of our enemy. Our enemy is out there with a team working overtime to stop the progression of Christianity. Getting Christians frustrated with life because of troubles is a key weapon in their arsenal. Troubles will come, not because you are out of God’s will, but because you do have an enemy working against you. Also, troubles come sometimes just because things just happen. I am very hesitant to say that all bad things are caused by the devil. However, what I can tell you is that regardless of the cause, there is hope and there is help. As a child of God, you will always have help available, not only when you are following what God has commanded you to do, but even during times when we miss God. God is always available to help us get back on track. All we have to do is ask, just as we would go to our natural parents when we are in need.
II. Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled
My favorite scripture in the Bible is John 14:1-6. When I was younger, I was a card carrying, certified member of the worrier club. To be a member of this club you had to be able to worry about anything. How big or small the believed problem was did not matter. You had to perfect your skills to the point where you could worry about big and small problems equally. Once you reached this level, you could join the club with all of the rights and privileges of all of the other worriers. I have told you stories before about things I worried over. I worried a lot and I was good at it. When I became a teenager, I began reading my Bible more and I came across the words of Jesus as found in John 14. I was going through one of my “difficult” times at that point and the words jumped off the page at me. Since then I read or quote these words when I feel myself starting to worry. Here is what it says:
John 14:1-6 “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way where I am going. Thomas said to Him, ‘Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father but through me.”
Let me share with you why these verses are so important to me. The very first line says, “Let not your heart be troubled.” When I read the word “let” it tell me that I have a choice in the matter. I can literally choose whether to allow my heart to be troubled or not. Do you see this? Other translations say “Your mind must not be troubled; You must not let yourselves be distressed; or Set your troubled hearts at rest.” Regardless of how you read this, the message is the same; it is up to us. So many times we default to responding to our situations instead of rising above them. To rise above a situation means that you decide not only how you will respond to the situation, but also how you will allow the situation to affect you. Jesus is our example of how we should live on this earth. When He was performing miracles, His disciples marveled at what He did. Jesus told His disciples not to marvel because greater works they would be able to do. If Jesus is our example and He expects that we would do greater works than He did while He was on earth, the least we should be able to do is to begin to model His behavior. We may not get surpassing His miracles, but we can model His actions, His love and His dependence on His Father.
We can choose not to have our hearts troubled. There are some things that will bother us no matter how strong our faith is, but the strength comes in how we respond to the situation. Jesus asked us not to allow our hearts to be troubled – but to believe in God and in Him. He reminds us that life on this earth is temporary and He has prepared a place for us that will exist through out all of eternity. If we see life here as temporary and our true life starting once we enter into God’s presence, we can start changing our responses to everyday situations. This does not mean we stop caring or living, it just means that our responses are different. Jesus said He has prepared a place for us and that He will come again to receive us. Just as the groom before he receives his bride goes out and prepares a place for them to live, so have Jesus done for us. He has prepared a place for us and will come again and will receive us.
III. Troubles Vs. Blessings
When I started this message, I told you that there are those who believe that you have troubles when you are out of God’s will and therefore you are not being blessed. There are those that will tell you that you can only be blessed when you are giving money to the church or doing good deeds. I want to ask you a question “Do you think that Jesus ever woke in the morning asking the question ‘What do I need to do today so that My Father will bless me?” I have read the Bible through many times and I cannot remember one scripture where Jesus asked His Father what could He do that day so that God would bless Him. I cannot remember one scripture that gives us the formula to ensure that we receive a blessing from God everyday. Why, because it is not required. If Jesus is truly our model for our relationship with God (and I believe He is) then the relationship that He has with God the Father should be the relationship that we have with Him also. We do not have to work for God’s blessings. We are blessed because we belong to Him.
If we understand this principle we will understand why our response to troubles can be changed. Jesus never asked His Father what could He do to be blessed. God blessed Him because of His relationship with Him – He was His Son. Let me ask you this question: “What do your kids need to do in order for you to bless them?” Have you ever brought your child a gift without there being a “special” occasion? Have you ever brought home ice cream “just because”? Have you ever given your child a list of things they could do to ensure your blessings? Of course not! We bless our children because of their relationship with us. They are our children. Because they are our children, we will do whatever it takes to ensure they have everything they need. God is the same way. He blesses us because of our relationship with Him through Jesus Christ. We cannot work for the blessing so therefore we cannot earn it. It is a gift from God, just as we do with our children on a daily basis.
What I need you to understand is that we are blessed because of our relationship with God through Jesus Christ. We cannot earn a blessing – we cannot make God be indebted to us. Part of the package (benefits/blessings) is help in the time of need. When we recognize that our relationship offers us help in the time of trouble, we do not feel that we are alone. Walter Hawkins sung a song that said, “Everywhere I go there is trouble. Everywhere I go there is strife. Everywhere I go there is something that worries me, but my God is standing by. God is standing by, no need to cry. God is standing near, no need to fear.” This song is truth put to words for truly God is standing by. Will you allow Him to help you?
Conclusion
Living in the kingdom of God doesn’t mean we won’t face trials, disappointments and attacks from Satan. What it does mean is that we have an example to follow – Jesus Christ – in dealing with these situations. When troubles arise, remember God is standing by. You are blessed, not because you are so good and have earned it, but because you are a child of God. May God Bless and keep you.
