Do Not Let Your Heart Be Troubled Psalms 46:1-3 Lamentations 3:19-24 Mark 6:45-51 John 14:1-4 John 14:25-27 John 16:33 Philippians 4:5-7 02.24.20

DO NOT LET YOUR HEART BE TROUBLED

BREAD

¹ God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. ² Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, ³ though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.  Selah  Psalms 46:1-3 (NIV)

¹⁹ I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. ²⁰ I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. ²¹ Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:  ²² Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. ²³ They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. ²⁴ I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”  Lamentations 3:19-24 (NIV)

⁴⁵ Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. ⁴⁶ After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray. ⁴⁷ When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. ⁴⁸ He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, ⁴⁹ but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, ⁵⁰ because they all saw him and were terrified. Immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid.” ⁵¹ Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed.  Mark 6:45-51 (NIV)

¹ “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. ² In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. ⁴ You know the way to the place where I am going.”   John 14:1-4 (NIV)

²⁵ “All this I have spoken while still with you. ²⁶ But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. ²⁷ Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”  John 14:25-27 (NIV)

³³ “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”  John 16:33 (NIV)

⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:5-7 (NIV)

BUTTER

“Anticipation of trouble makes trifles appear unduly large, and the troubles that never come make up an imagined burden that will crush the spirit.  They are haunting specters, as unsubstantial as a bad dream, and we spend the strength that should be expended in constructive work and services in fighting problems that do not even exist.”  Billy Graham

“A fixed, constant attention to the promises, and a firm belief in them, would prevent solicitude and anxiety about the concerns of this life. It would keep the mind quiet and composed in every change, and support and keep up our sinking spirits under the several troubles of life….Christians deprive themselves of their most solid comforts by their unbelief and forgetfulness of God’s promises.  For there is no extremity so great but there are promises suitable to it, and abundantly sufficient for our relief in it.”   Samuel Clarke

 

“This God is no stranger to the hard road. This God walked the hardest road for us. And whatever road we’re walking on now—then somehow, someway—that road is good. There’s not just breadcrumbs of good for you on it; the road itself is good… In this hard, He is doing something holy. He is doing something transformative. Even as our hearts rage. Even as they break….This upside down road, where His power is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians), where troubles are an opportunity for great joy (James 1:2) because troubles usher us into His presence, and in His presence, there is fullness of joy. (Psalms 16:11).  This is Who.  A God who does not forsake. A God who is not cruel. A God who is not stingy with grace.  Not a sparrow falls outside of His care.  When we find ourselves walking through a dry and weary land where there is no water, shaking our fists at why…Fix the eyes on this God.  Remember and rest in Who.  Maybe comfort isn’t found so much when we ask ‘Why is this all unfolding here and now?’ — Maybe comfort is found more when we rest in Who is enfolding us all here and now.”  Katie Ganshert 

“‘Dost thou want nothing, O poor soul?  Hast thou nothing to ask?  Oh yes!  You say, a great deal.  Well then, draw near to thy gracious King and Bridegroom without fear.  Lo!  He holds out His golden scepter to thee, saying, ‘Only ask:  not the half, but the whole of My kingdom shall be granted; nay, I will give myself unto thee!’  O dear soul, pray, and tell Him everything that is wanting, be it ever so great or ever so small.  His loving-kindness will hear even the least petition; nay, He will seem to be ignorant of what thou dost not tell Him.  But whatever is poured out before Him is actually addressed and lodged in its proper place, and does not lie upon thy heart any longer, but upon His heart, which cannot rest till you are relieved.  And if you have experienced His help aforetime in great or small things, you may depend on His readiness to help you out of troubles hereafter; only be earnest in prayer for His help.  We often imagine we were willing and drawing near to Him, but He was unwilling, and refused our request; but it is not so:  He rather draws us, and desires our relief more than we do; for it is He that works even this willing mind.”     K.H. Von Bogatzky

“Worry isn’t productive. In fact, worry is a failure to trust God. It’s interesting that the word ‘worry’ comes from an old German term that means ‘to strangle.’ That’s what worry does: it chokes you. It’s been said that worry is the advanced interest you pay on troubles that seldom come.”   Greg Laurie

“On Him then reckon, to Him look, on Him depend:  and be assured that if you walk with Him, look to Him and expect help from Him, He will never fail you.  An older brother, who has known the Lord for forty-four years, who writes this, says for your encouragement that He has never failed him.  In the greatest difficulties, in the heaviest trials, in the deepest poverty and necessities, He has never failed me; but because I was enabled by His grace to trust in Him, He has always appeared for my help.  I delight in speaking well of His Name.”   George Mueller

“Lean hard upon Me, for I bring you through to new victories, and restoration shall follow what seems now to be a wind of destruction.  Hold fast to My hand, and rest in My love, for of this you may be very certain:  My love is unaltered; yes, I have you in My own intensive care.  My concern for you is deeper now than when things are normal.  Draw upon the resources of My grace, and so shall you be equipped to communicate peace and confidence to your dear ones.  Heaven rejoices when you go through trials with a singing spirit.  Your Father’s heart is cheered when you endure the test and do not question His mercy.  Be like a beacon light.  His own glorious radiance shall shine through you, and Christ Himself will be revealed.”   Frances J. Roberts

“Nowhere does the Bible teach that Christians are exempt from tribulation and natural disaster…But the Bible does teach that we can face trials with a power others do not have – the power of God.  As we trust Him, God helps us endure, and even discern His purposes in the midst of suffering…The eagle has the unique ability to lock its joints and soar effortlessly on an updraft, instead of flapping its wings.  As we wait on God, He helps us use the winds of adversity to soar above our problems.  As the Bible says, ‘Those who wait on the Lord…shall mount up with wings like eagles’ (Isaiah 40:31).”   Billy Graham

“The presence of God in the darkness of our trials is a small foretaste of the presence of God that we will know in the eternal light of his glory. It is in the absence of God's gifts that I learn the Giver himself is the greatest gift of all.”   Betsy Childs Howard

“Do not think when we are suffering in the fiery furnace He does not care.  Do not think that He sits lofty in the heavenlies paying us no mind.  Our Master knows the intensity of the heat and the exact longevity of all our trials and tribulations designed to bring about His divine purposes of unmingled good and blessedness for every heir of mercy.  Our Savior suffered with a magnitude we know nothing of so that heaven’s doors would be open to us.  If on our way to our true home we undergo the arrows of Satan’s quiver, take heart my friend and do not lose your hope or joy.  Many have traversed this same path and received the warmest of welcomes home.   Weeping may endure for the night but joy, yes joy, comes in the morning.”  BHY

HEART SAVOR

·         God is our strength and help in all our trials and tribulations.

·         The beloved of the Lord can rest secure in Him for He shields Him all day long.

·         His grip is secure and firm on every heir of mercy.  When Jesus is in our “boat” there is nothing to fear.  Perfect love drives out fear.