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| (Linda, at Weko Beach, Michigan) |
In John 13 Jesus' disciples have just:
- seen Judas leave them,
- heard Peter confronted with his future denial of Jesus,
- and heard Jesus tell them he's leaving soon, by way of a horrible death.
Understandably, this leaves their hearts "troubled," and they will encounter even more reasons to be disturbed in the hours to follow.
Knowing this, Jesus tells them, "Don't let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God. Trust in me."
The word "troubled" can be translated "agitated." Some washing machines have an "agitator." It moves back and forth, back and forth. When a heart is agitated, it moves back and forth, back and forth. It is disturbed. Troubled.
Trust stops the inner agitator.
Trust concerns an unknown future. It relates to things we have little or no control over. Which are: most things.
Trust and control do not go together. To do both is to be agitated.
The Greek word used in John 14:1 is pisteuo, which means: "personal relational trust" (Andreas Kostenberger, John, 425). I put my trust in someone, or something. I place my trust in a person, or persons.
I once had a friend who was a police office. He told me, "John, I don't trust anyone." I think he trusted me. It took him years to come to this. His work brought him into untrustworthy situations, every day. Trust implies risk. We wonder, can we trust this person?
No trust means no rest. No trust equals no peace. But where a person trusts, there is rest and peace.
Where trust is, troubledness is not. Trust and troubledness do not logically coexist. Any place you are trusting is a place of non-agitation.
This is good. We all need a refuge.
In life, trust in God; trust in Jesus. He becomes the Quieter of our Souls. We find rest, in Him.
