Don't be troubled by trouble

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Christians love clichés.
  • God said it. I believe it. That settles it.
  • You're never safer than when you're in God's will.
  • Let go and let God
  • Where God guides, God provides.
  • If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it
  • You can't outgive God.
  • God helps those who help themselves
  • When God closes a window, He opens a door.
  • God doesn’t give you more than you can handle.
  • Your setback is God’s way of setting you up for your comeback!

The intent may be good, but many Christian clichés are simply trite sayings for troubled souls. Why?

Some Christians seem to think that if you are troubled, struggling, and having a rough patch that there is something wrong with you. To be sure, once we get to heaven every day will be a good day. In the meantime, Jesus was clear in John 16:33 that, “In this world, you will have trouble.”

It is not a sin to be troubled; although Jesus never sinned, He was troubled. We read in John 13:21, “Jesus was troubled in his spirit”. Just a few verses later, He then invites us saying in John 14:1, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.”

Only days before the cross, Jesus was emotionally wrestling with what He faced. He stopped and took the time to emotionally empathize with and minister to His followers who too had troubled hearts.

There are three important life lessons here. One, it’s good and godly to be honest about our own struggles as Jesus was. Two, when we are struggling we can become selfish and so consumed with our troubles that we overlook the troubles of others. Three, when we are struggling, we are often in the best position to be a servant and minister to others who are also suffering and troubled. This is precisely what Jesus did. He was honest about His own troubled heart and ministered to the troubled hearts of others. Author: Mark Driscol

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