Sometimes, things go from bad to worse and the bad news just keeps coming. Sometimes when it rains it pours.
Jesus’ disciples learned He would be leaving them. His leaving would be full of suffering.
“I am with you for only a short time, and then I am going to the one who sent me. You will look for me, but you will not find me…” John 7:33-34
One of their close-knit group would betray Jesus. Then Peter would disown Him before men.
To make matters worse, Satan wanted to test them. He would work hard to take them all down. To destroy them.
“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” Luke 22:31-32
They would all scatter, leaving Jesus’ side when He needed them most.
“This very night you will all fall away on account of me…” Matthew 26:31
Soon, the Light would leave this world, and things were going to get worse for these men. They would be exposed and hated and persecuted. What a bitter pill to swallow. This wasn’t the coming kingdom they expected to see.
Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in Me.
After all this bad news came like a blow, Jesus spoke to His closest disciples, His dearest friends. He observed how it felt to be in their shoes. He noticed the state of their disillusioned hearts.
Jesus knows “all our secret undiscovered sorrows, the wounds that bleed inwardly; He knows not only how we are afflicted, but how we stand affected under our afflictions, and how near they lie to our hearts…He knows our souls in adversity.” ~Matthew Henry
The remedy for their sorrows and discouragement? Trust in God, and trust in Jesus. It wasn’t cliche’, but it was truth.
He encouraged them that He’d go prepare for them and later return to bring them home, where they’d always stay with Him. He said, You know the way to the place where I am going. But they didn’t. They didn’t understand, so Jesus told them again. Here’s who I AM~
I AM the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through Me. (John 14)
When your heart is troubled, and the blows add up, or one heavy blow shatters life as you know it…rely on Jesus. Cling to Him. He knows your heart, where it’s broken. Hold Him fast. He is the way to life.
You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord Himself, is the Rock eternal. Isaiah 26:3-4
[…] {Day 22}: When Everything Is Awful […]