No trouble

Do not let your heart be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in me

Comfort. We all want to be in this state, yet often we find ourselves in uncomfortable situations. Jesus was aware of this and when his disciples were troubled in heart he advised them with the statement above. As I read the words I'm struck by how obvious they are - Don't let your heart be troubled!

I'm thinking 'like I have a choice'. As I thought about that it struck me that perhaps Jesus was saying we do have a choice. I read it like this:

Don't allow your heart to be troubled - guard your heart from trouble

There are two verses in the bible that say "Guard your heart". One is in proverbs. It says

'guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life'.

Tthe other is in Philippians 4 where Paul tells the Church:

Don't be worried about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God. And the peace of God, which transcends our understanding, will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus

Those words are life and beauty to our hearts. As we pray - as we focus on Jesus - God's peace enters our hearts and minds. We guard our hearts from trouble through trusting in Jesus in the place of prayer. Prayer focusses our heart on the solution and takes it off our problems.

God's peace is not a fabrication of our imagination - it is transcendent. Perhaps we need to persevere in praying until God's peace comes to guard our hearts from trouble.

Are we in an uncomfortable situation where troubles are welling up like storms around and within us?

Then let us pray...