Let Not Your Hearts Be Troubled

John 14:1-3 "Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

There are things I worry about, and things I do not worry about. The process of worrying tends to wear me down. At some point I may even end up exhausted and have no energy to worry. At point I have to leave it up to God. Hindsight being what it is, I probably should have started at that point and saved all that energy.

Continuing with the theme of trouble during the holidays, I want to look at what we may encounter that can leave us troubled.  To be sure we can spend too much money lavishing gifts on our family and friends to show our love. We can also fret over how well our annual Christmas or New Years dinner will be received by those invited to the feast.  Or we may have concerns about family members. As mentioned in a previous post, things can go very badly during family get togethers.  It's tragic how siblings may try to tear each other down, or may even attack their parents over a perceived failing in how they were raised. It's the "Mommy & Daddy didn't love me enough, trust me enough, give me enough or show love for each other enough."  All I can say is ENOUGH. Besides the get-over it response that comes to mind. I have to look at the John 14:1-3 passage in scripture and say, why are you the child troubled? And I have to say to the parents, why are you troubled?  Believing in God removes the burden of worry from your hearts. Believing in God places trust in what God's will is in our lives, and the lives of our children. It eliminates the fret and worry from our hearts. God has a plan for all of us. God will see all of us through the tough times. He is there by our side. He is in our corner. And he is waiting patiently for us when we reach the end of our rope.  If we leave our troubles to solve ourselves, we will fail.  But if we look to God, He is the only one who can give us the final results that really matter. What we do, worry about, fret over, matters so little in the end. It is all about what we do in love to one another that makes the difference in our lives and the lives of those we call family, friends, and even enemies.  The acts of love will not get us a better place in heaven. Jesus has done that already. He will come again and take us there. That is what is important. Not that we did not have enough of something we thought we needed. It is a matter of perspective. After all, how much is really enough?

PRAYER: Lord and Giver of Life, we are at times troubled by the petty things in our lives. These things which divert our attention from You, and seek to separate us from You. We are often surrounded by trials and tribulations. Help us to see beyond the fog of these distractions. Help us to see You in all that we see and do. We ask this in the name of Your Son Jesus, who has gone before us and will return one day to bring us home, Amen.