Heart Choices

John 14:1 - Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God believe also in me.


Do you have a troubled heart?  Do you feel weary with the fight?  Do you contemplate giving up?  If you give up, what are you giving up to?  Jesus told us if we believe in God, we are to believe in Him.  And He said to not let our hearts be troubled.


I know in some ways I'm sounding like a broken record but you know the only way I've found to keep my heart from being troubled?  PRAYER and lots of it.  When I don't pray as I should, my human side moves in.  It causes me to doubt, to question.


Same as I've talked about a lot lately, the whisper of 'why isn't it happening?', 'doesn't God care?', 'is God listening?',  or my personal favorite (said with much sarcasm) 'maybe God doesn't think this is important enough to answer'.  Well, as much as I hate it, 'Wait' is an answer.  It's not one I deal with well.  But God has a purpose and He doesn't make us wait to frustrate us, He makes us wait so that we can have the best.


Jesus said 'let not your heart be troubled'.  He didn't say 'your heart will never be troubled'.  He left the choice up to us.  Worry is a choice.  When the first thought comes up to worry or fret, that is a temptation but to follow through with it is a choice.  Whether you make that choice by thinking about making it or you have just done it so much it is like breathing, it is still a choice. 


With the same effort you can choose to trust..  You can choose to say 'God, I will praise you even though I don't understand'.  You can choose to pray for God to give you direction and comfort.  You have so many choices instead of worry.  But you have to make the choice.


It sounds so simple doesn't it.  But satan isn't going to take that laying down.  He is going to pelt you with more doubts.  He is going to throw circumstances in your path. 


Did you serve in the military or know someone who does?  War isn't easy, war isn't fun.  But victory is rewarding, that is why you keep fighting.  You have a goal.  My goal these days is to learn what I've missed by not learning.  Is that confusing enough for you?  Every day there are opportunities to learn, especially in the Christian walk.  Sometimes we don't even see them.  At other times we are 'too busy' to take them.  Still other times they 'look like hard work and I'm just tired'. 


What have I missed because of those choices?  Have I missed blessings?  Have a missed opportunities to bless others?  Have I missed opportunities to please God, make Him proud of me? 


Rather than having a troubled heart, I want a yearning heart.  I want a heart that strives to please God, to learn about God and to be a blessing to others.  I believe in God, I know that Jesus is God.  I know that God loves me.  I know that He wants what is best for me and He is all powerful.  If I am committed to Him, He will fulfill His commitment to me!