By John Chamness
The Living Word of God quoting Jesus says: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).
With all the horrible things going on around the world today, we may take a certain comfort in those precious Words of our Lord Jesus.
Babies murdered; seniors pushed from their levels of comfort to await uncertainties of each day; as has been said, wars and rumors of wars, pestilences in many places; nations rising against nations; tribulation and trials on nearly every side; it’s enough to cause the heart to tremble and for the question to be raised,
“Where can we go? To whom may we turn to find real peace and rest?’”
I’m reminded of time when I had taken a journey to a different nation with the hope of being able to share the Joy and Peace of our Lord Jesus Christ with others who may be less fortunate or blessed. Take this journey with me.
As our journey began, it is only minutes since we left our plane at the tiny airstrip in the clearing but already we were deep in the darkness of the jungle.
Unseen animals chatter and screech over out head. Strange shapes hover in the shadows. In broken English, our guide reminds us, “Stay close to me, please!” We don’t even consider disobeying him; he is our only hope of getting back out alive!
The fear of the unknown is shared by most human beings. We naturally want to know what’s ahead of us. And that is especially true when it comes to the future. But as believers in Jesus Christ, we do not need to worry about tomorrow.
We really don’t need to worry about all the frightful sounds we hear around us. We serve the Almighty God who knows the future, controls the future, and even reveals the future in His Word.
God allowed King David to know in advance about the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. He enabled that godly man to “See” his descendant, God’s anointed Messiah, sitting on Israel’s throne forever and ever. Because he trusted God, he could face the future with confidence, even with great joy!
We who believe in Jesus Christ need not fear the future. Jesus himself is our Guide as we walk the path of life one day at a time. Staying close to Him, we can echo the joyous testimony of David: “Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope” (Psalm 16:8; Acts 2:26).
The joy of trusting in Jesus Christ comes to us quickly when we move forward from worrying about things we cannot control and begin to:
Remember, to love one another. This is Jesus’ commandment. With keeping the commandment comes tremendous benefit including great joy.
Don’t worry about all the things you cannot change…trust in the Son of the Living and Loving God who remains in control of the destiny of all men. You can find great joy in trusting Him.
Rev. Dr. John I Chamness is pastor of the Family Worship Center A/G in Chester. He may be reached by phone at 573-547-7634 or by email at johnchamness@att.net.
