Troubled Trust
John 14:1,
September 28, 2008
Morning Service
Introduction
Tony Snow, former Press Secretary for President George W. Bush, battled cancer for several years before it took his life earlier this year. Snow was asked if he had learned any lessons through his ob going battle.
Listen to what he said: "We want lives of simple, predictable ease—smooth, even trails as far as the eye can see—but God likes to go off-road."
Troubles, there are days when they just seem to surround us. We see troubles in corporate corruption and greed that have created an economic nightmare. Violence permeates our city streets and rears its ugly head, hidden behind closed doors in homes next door or down the street. Disasters of nature effect people along the coast and well beyond. Personal tragedies and sorrows grip the hearts of our families, friends and neighbors.
Trouble is as old as time and there is nothing new about it. Think about these Old Testament examples:
Joseph was troubled by a dysfunctional family and social injustice.
Moses was troubled by the Egyptian army on one side and the Red Sea on the other.
Rahab was troubled by her past
Gideon was troubled by his insecurities
What can we do when trouble comes our way? What is the solution for a troubled heart?
Jesus gives the prescription for troubled hearts in a simple and sure manner. The only solution for a troubled heart is trust.
Do not let your hearts be troubled, trust in God, trust also in me. John 14:1
Webster says that the word trouble means to produce physical disorder, to put into confused motion or to become mentally agitated. Our English word trouble comes from the Anglo French word trubler and the Latin turbulare.
The Greek word for troubled is tarraso, which means to agitate, to terrify, to disquiet, to unsettle or to perplex. Classical Greek uses tarraso to describe something that is shaken or thrown into confusion. This same word was also used to describe a violent body of water or the uproar of nations.
When Jesus tells the disciples to not let their hearts be troubled, He is not saying that they would not go through difficulties. Instead, Jesus was telling them to not allow the difficulties to shake their trust in Him or the Father.
Jesus understood what they did not, He came to die and not to rule an earthly kingdom. Jesus came to suffer and be the savior that we so desperately needed. Jesus saw that there would be situations and circumstances that could shake their trust in God. The same could be said of us, there are times when our trust in God could be shaken.
Six Common Trust Troublers
1.) Worry
29 And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30 For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. Luke 12:29-31
2.) Self Reliance
Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots and in the great strength of their horsemen, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel, or seek help from the LORD. Isaiah 31:1
3.) Doubt
6 But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does. James 1:6-8
4.) Disbelief
6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. Hebrews 11:6
5.) Sin
But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe. Galatians 3:22
6.) Fear
In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me? Psalm 56:4
How do we overcome a troubled heart?
"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33
Remember that trouble is not something new that we have to deal with. Trouble has been with us since Adam ate the forbidden fruit. Trouble will be with us until Jesus returns to reclaim and restore creation.
We see troubles all through the New Testament.
The disciples were troubled when they were on the boat caught in a storm
Jesus Himself was troubled when he said that one of His own disciples would betray Him
The Galatians were troubled by false teachings
Jesus told the disciples that they should expect trouble in life. Trouble is one of the realities of life that we can simply expect.
Jesus tells the disciples several things that we can learn from.
1. Troubles require us to have a proper perspective
When Jesus was visited the home of Mary and Martha, a problem arose between the sisters. Mary sat at the feet of Jesus and Martha was busy with the preparations for the guests. After a while Martha gets upset with Mary and calls her to the carpet. Martha asks Jesus, if He really cares that Mary has left her high and dry with the work to be done.
Listen to how Jesus responds:
41 "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." Luke 10:41-42
The first thing that we must remember when we are dealing with troubles, we must have a proper perspective. Martha’s problem is often our problem, we get too busy to experience God. We come to church and get wrapped up in doing church work and the various tasks that we forget, we are here to be with Jesus.
We are called to service and must take an active role in the ministry but not to the sacrifice of our spiritual well being. We sometimes equate being busy with being spiritual and the two could not be further apart.
2. Troubles require us to evaluate our priorities
One of the difficulties for many Christians is that they have the wrong priorities. Jesus makes it clear that we are meant to have one priority, Him.
3. Troubles remind us of our need to pray
4. Troubles cannot take away our peace
Conclusion
Tony Snow hit the nail on the head by saying that life is not always a smooth and easy path because God sometimes goes off road.
What makes us different from the heroes of faith in the Bible? They were willing to go off road with God and many times we are not
