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| (Redeemer) |
John 14:1 - “Do not let your hearts be troubled.”
Jesus' words imply that we have a responsibility for the spiritual and emotional condition of our hearts. It appears we can “let” our hearts be troubled. It seems there is something we can do about our troubledness, some action we can take.
That action is: actively trusting. The antidote to inner troubledness is trust. Where there is active trust, troubledness does not exist.
The object of our trust must be sufficient enough to alleviate our troubledness. For example, were I to take a plane across the ocean, I place my trust in: 1) the pilot (he must have sufficient training, knowledge, experience, and physical and emotional well-being; 2) the airplane (it must be structurally sufficient, have the requisite capacity of range, and so on); 3) the airplane mechanics; 4) and so on.
The question becomes: Is Jesus a sufficient object of trust? Can I trust Jesus? I only find this out by actively placing my trust in Him. All trust is learned, and earned.
Jesus continues, "You believe in God; believe also in me." (John 14:1) The Greek word we translate as "believe" is pisteuete (πιστεύετε). This can be translated as "place confidence in," or "trust in." To believe is to trust.
I place my confidence in God. I place my confidence in Jesus. I believe, therefore I trust. This means: I follow Jesus.
There;s an old worship song called "Trust and Obey." As trust is exemplified in obedience, I discover that troubledness dissipates.
