What Troubles You?
“I am troubled now. Yet what should I say?
‘Father, save me from this hour’?
But it was for this purpose that I came to this hour.”John 12:27
As Jesus entered into Jerusalem for the final time before His Passion, the Greeks were beginning to grow curious about Jesus. They tell Philip they want to see Jesus, so he goes and tells Andrew, who in turns tells Jesus. Perhaps we expect Jesus to become overwhelmed with joy and excitement that others might be moved by His works to come to knowledge of God, but the reaction of Jesus was very different.
He goes on to say that the “hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified” and gives the imagery of the grain that must die so that fruit might be borne. When one hears of being “glorified” perhaps the image of a throne comes to mind or some dramatic scene where the person is held in high esteem and celebrated like a king. But Jesus’s glorification was far from that. It was not a lofty throne or even a few people bowing down to Him. Jesus’s glorification was His Passion and the Cross. Jesus reminded His disciples that to truly live means to lay down one’s life and that those who follow Him must have their eyes and hearts set on things not of this world, but that which comes from the Father.
Then, Jesus utters words filled with emotion, “I am troubled now,” giving us a glimpse of the human nature of Jesus. What must have been weighing on Jesus’s heart, the burdens of the world, the weight of humanity’s sins. But even in the moment of a troubled heart, Jesus surrendered to the will of the Father, abandoning Himself so that others might come to experience the love of God. Jesus did not allow fear to cloud His judgement. He knew fully what His mission was and what the will of His Father was for Him. When one is in right relationship with God, trials and tribulations do not have power over them. They acknowledge their own fears and weaknesses, yes, but they also acknowledge the power of God, trusting that no trouble can match the power that comes from the Father. So, as Christians, we must remember that troubles will come, but we must neither let them overtake us nor pretend they do not exist because both are from the enemy.
What are the things that trouble you? Look at them with the Lord today and pray, “I am troubled, Lord. What should I say or do but to I surrender them all to You, for you have come to make all things new.”
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