WATCHWORD:
“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. 2 There is more than enough room in my Father’s home.[a] If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?[b] 3 When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. 4 And you know the way to where I am going.” John 14:1-4
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” James 1:2-3
“Be on guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.” 1 Corinthians 16:13
Meditation:
John 14, Part #2 – Embracing Trouble
I go to prepare a place for you: Love prepares a welcome. With love, expectant parents prepare a room for the baby. With love, the hostess prepares for her guests. Jesus prepares a place for His people because He loves them and is confident of their arrival.
Sir James Barrie was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered as the man who wrote Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up, and many other works. One of his books was about his mother, Margaret Ogilvy, and his growing up in Scotland. His mother endured a lot of misery in her life, including the tragic death of one of her sons. Barrie wrote that his mother’s favorite Bible chapter was John 14. She read it so much that when her Bible was opened and set down, the pages naturally fell open to this place. Barrie said that when she was old and could no longer read, she would lean down to her Bible and kiss the page where the words were printed.
Jesus tells the disciples (and us) “I am going…”, referring to His own planning and initiative. He wasn’t taken to the cross; He went there. The disciples thought that His death was an unforeseen calamity. Christ taught them that it was the path of His own planning.
But, His disciples still felt His departure like torture. And it was then that He consoled them with the simple and glorious “You believe in God, believe also in Me”. Instead of giving into a troubled heart, Jesus told them to firmly put their trust in God and in Jesus Himself.
That is His message to us, today. So much of what surrounds us is unsettled and unsettling. Things have changed and we don’t like it and we resist it. Even talk about the weather has become controversial because we don’t want change in something so vast and inclusive, we want to believe it is as it always was. And if we are to believe in true science, not as seen through political lenses, then what we are currently experiencing will continue well into the future. And we don’t like that.
Several weeks ago, I closed Watchwords with this statement: “What is next? Do you trust it? What is around the next corner? Does it matter? Are you worried? No? Not really. Good. Our Cornerstone never varies, always keeps us grounded on God’s will and God’s purpose for our lives.”
That’s what Jesus was saying to reassure his disciples. He told them to be at peace, that He was not really leaving them. He is simply going to ready things for them, for us. He says to them, trust me, but more than that, believe in me and in the miracles, I have done, that you have witnessed, greater works than these you will do. He was speaking about greater magnitude, when you consider what Jesus left behind in a victorious, and working sea of followers who continued to spread His Kingdom among peoples and places.
Regardless about how things have changed and continued to change all around us, that Cornerstone has not changed and will not change. Jesus is the same for us, and will be for our children and their children. As we’ve said before and we will say it again, on Christ the solid rock we stand, all around is sinking sand. Amen.
A Shaggy Dog Story
One day a dog walked into a butcher’s shop just before closing with an envelope in its mouth. The butcher took the envelope and found that it contained a request for a leg of ham, along with the proper amount of money. The butcher was more than a little surprised and confused but got the dog his order. The dog took the leg in its mouth and headed out the door. The butcher decided to follow the dog since it was almost closing time and he was unlikely to get any more customers. The dog headed down the street for a bit before stopping at a bus stop, he seemed to look at the time table for a moment and then sat down next to a bench. Several busses came and went and the dog did not move. Eventually a bus came to the stop and the dog looked at it number and got on. The butcher, now thoroughly perplexed, followed the dog onto the buss and noticed that the dog had a bus pass on hi collar. The dog put the leg of ham down then expertly took the pass in his mouth, stood up on his hind legs, and scanned the pass, and picking back up the ham before walking to an empty seat. The butcher also got on the buss, paying a one time fee, and headed back to sit across from the dog. They rode for some time before eventually coming to a neighborhood and getting off at a curbside. The dog walked up the street before coming to a house and heading up the drive. Then to the butcher’s surprise, the dog did the strangest thing, he set down the ham and rad full force into the door. He did this several more times until a man came out and started yelling at the dog, calling him useless and stupid. The butcher ran up to the man and said “Sir! Why are you calling this dog stupid? He is clearly a genius.” “Not so.” replied the man, “This is the third time this week he forgot his keys.”
Bulletin Board:
Members of the Watchword Network, give some thought to sharing your thoughts and writings and humor to enrich the daily devotionals. What is your favorite scripture passage and why? Accomplishments of your children and grands? A devotional that you read recently that touched you.
A Prayer for the Morning:
Heavenly Father, you teach us to not let our hearts be troubled; that since we believe in God, we also believe in You. So, we pray that you will be with us today. When we are stressed, overwhelmed, and unsure, help our hearts not be troubled, and help us to be courageous and strong. If we hear bad news, comfort us and remind us that we believe in You, the one who has power over everything. With that peace in our hearts, we greet this day that you have created, and we rejoice and are glad. Amen and Amen
