If you remember in last week’s article, I began a series of encouraging words based on the alphabet. The word I used was the word “abide”.   I talked about how important it is for us to abide in Christ, or stay with Christ, so we can bear the fruit followers of Christ are supposed to bear.  We must do things that keep us focused on Him.

This week, as I think about the letter “B”, the word I want to talk about is the word “believe”. Just as abiding in Christ is important for us to show others the fruit of the spirit, believing in Christ is important for us to stay strong in our relationship with Christ. In John 14:1, Jesus is talking with His disciples about leaving them. He shares with them that He must go away and what is going to happen to Him. After sharing this news, He understands they are sad, and troubled and obviously concerned about life without Christ being with them. It is for this reason Jesus comforts His disciples with these words, “let not your hearts be troubled.” A troubled heart is a questioning heart, maybe even a doubting heart, and Christ knew they could not live this way if they were going to carry on His ministry.

We live in a world that causes us to have troubled hearts. I don’t think a day goes by without someone talking with me about how scared they are becoming while living in this world. Every day we hear about another shooting taking innocent lives. We hear about sickness and death. We hear about wars and political divisiveness. I must admit, as I sit here writing this article, my heart is troubled. I want to fix the world. I want things to be better. I want my children, and possibly grandchildren, to have a world they enjoy being a part of each day, instead of being afraid to walk out their door. I want to make it better, but I can’t. I can’t fix the world. Instead, I have to do what Jesus told His disciples to do.

In order for me to continue on, trying to live the life Christ has called me to live, I must believe in Him. It’s hard, but it’s what He calls us all to do. He told them also to “believe in God and believe in Him.” I think Jesus was saying to His disciples to trust Him. Even with a troubled heart, we have to trust God. When we can’t fix things around us, we have to believe in God. When we don’t have the answers to life’s troubling questions, we have to believe in God. It’s not just believing He is real, but believing He is in control. This is hard to do with a troubled heart. But as His disciples, and as followers of Christ, we have to believe and trust Him so our hearts will not be troubled. When trouble comes, believe. God is in control. Live in a way that helps others see the fruit of the spirit and believe in way that gets us through each day. Until next week..

Peace and Blessings…

Johnny