Trust me – Jesus can relate...

Troubles. We all have them, big and small. You may be going through some right now. And they have a way of... well... troubling us. 

As Jesus' disciples gathered in the upper room, they were feeling troubled by big-time troubles. They were wondering what was going to happen to Jesus – and to them – as angry people plotted. It was well known that things seemed to be coming to a head between Jesus and the religious leaders in Jerusalem. So as Jesus addressed them just before his crucifixion, he lovingly said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me" (John 14:1).

To some people, that might sound trite. Saying, "Just believe" might sound like shallow advice to someone stressed out by huge challenges. But not to Jesus, because he knew that the focus of such belief is a God who is infinitely bigger than any challenge we could ever face, and therefore even took his own advice. Jesus felt stress, and he knows how you feel when you feel stress. In John 12:27-28a, Jesus said, “Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name.”

Jesus knew exactly what the disciples were feeling as he stared down the barrel of life-threatening circumstances. That tells us that it's not a sin to feel troubled. As a perfect man, Jesus felt troubled. It astounds me that even with all his understanding as the Son of God, and with the incredible intimacy he had with his heavenly Father, Jesus was still capable of feeling troubled. So it's not wrong to feel that way. Don't let guilt be added to your troubles! It's what we do with stress that leads to sin. Do we respond with belief in God or with unbelief?

Jesus followed his own counsel of believing in God when his heart was troubled. We're told that his thoughts immediately turned to his Father, and to God's purposes, and to God's glory. "But for this purpose... Father, glorify Your name.” By seeking God's perspective in that way, I'm certain Jesus felt less troubled.

When circumstances in my own life cause my heart to feel troubled, I can be tempted to pray, "Father, save me from these troubles! Take them away!" Or even "Take me away! Save me from this hour!" Jesus prayed something like that in the Garden of Gethsemane as he said, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will” (Matthew 26:39). Once again, we see how quickly Jesus shifted his focus from earthly thoughts to heavenly thoughts. He turned his thoughts to God's will and purposes.

Jesus recognized God's obvious and awesome purposes in the exceptional circumstances that he was facing by turning his thoughts upward and by believing God. And I suspect that God has purposes for any challenges that any of us face. The Bible alludes to this when James wrote, "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing" (James 1:2-4).

So rather than asking God for a divine rescue when our hearts are troubled, perhaps it'd be better if we turned to heaven and asked God for his perspective. That's how we can seek God's glory rather than our own relief – because we truly glorify God when we trust him amidst the challenges we face.

So whatever you're going through, take a cue from Jesus – when your heart is troubled, look to God; believe in God; and in his Son, Jesus. Believe that God has a purpose for the challenges you're facing – and that he's allowing. Seek his glory as you give him glory by trusting him to fulfill his purposes in every trial you face.

Hands up if...

Hands up if you love reading about all the ceremonial laws near the beginning of the Bible! You know, the stuff about entrails and fatty lobes and sprinkled blood and burning kidneys. 

I sometimes find I hard to stay focused when reading all those details about the various sacrifices. But as I recently worked my way through some of those instructions, something unexpectedly caught my eye. I almost missed it, because I think my mind had kind of wandered off somewhere as I'd been reading (...has that ever happened to you?). But it was as if my mind suddenly stopped me and asked me, "Did you see that?" Though I suspect it was the Holy Spirit speaking to me.

After reading some extremely detailed directions to do with daily offerings, and just before some very exacting instructions regarding how to make an altar of incense, I suddenly noticed a beautiful theme tucked in there. In Exodus 29:42, God inserts a wonderful promise to a very undeserving people (much like us): "I will meet you to speak with you."

This probably felt like a very unexpected blessing. But God goes on to reinforce it as he refers to "the door of the tabernacle of meeting." This tabernacle was a new thing for the people of Israel. We may be used to reading about it, but they'd never had one before, and God's initial reference to it is full of encouragement. First of all, the Hebrew word for "tabernacle" literally means dwelling place. And if it's a dwelling place for God, then the mention of a "door" (or an entryway), and of "meeting" (or dwelling together) sounds pretty exciting! It all reinforces one thought: God wants to be among his people.

So this isn't just some tedious passage about outdated ceremonial laws. It's an example of God going to great lengths to be in relationship with his people. This becomes increasingly clear in the verses that follow. In verse 43, God says, "I will meet with the children of Israel." Then in verse 45, God says, "I will dwell among the children of Israel." Then in verse 46, God explains that all these instructions are "that I may dwell among them."

So what has potential to feel tedious to us, as we're immersed in myriad ceremonial details, is for the express purpose of making a way for a holy God to dwell among a sinful people. God simply didn't want to be separated from his people!

This is reinforced further as God insists that he "will be their God" (v.45), and "I am the LORD their God" (v.46). And what makes this more exciting is that all of this was meant to point to Jesus. Every ceremonial law was fulfilled by the sacrifice of Jesus, and when we invite Jesus into our hearts, we become his tabernacle -- his tent of meeting -- as he abides in us and meets with us and speaks with us.

John wrote, "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we seen his glory, glory as of the only son, from the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14). John literally wrote there that Jesus "tabernacled" among us. And the offerings once required for God to dwell among us have been completed by Jesus, who offered his life for us. The Bible tells us that "every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God" (Hebrews 10:11-12). And so "by one offering he has perfected forever those who are being sanctified" (Hebrews 10:14).

So hands up if you're grateful for what Jesus did for us so that we can enjoy genuine fellowship with God! Amidst all the ceremonial details of Exodus, God wants us to recognize his Father's heart for fellowship. Those details are meant to point us to Jesus, through whom God wants to draw near to us -- right here and now -- to meet with us.