journey onWord with us

The words and warnings are so familiar.  For generations upon generations, people have been certain they were living in the end times … absolutely certain of it.  If you read the headlines from any one of our recent days, it seems a case could be made.  So what do we do with all of it?  I would like to focus on the words of Jesus near the end of Luke 21 in consideration of that question.

The beginning of verse 34 reads the following way in varied translations:

Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, (NIV)

But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, (ESV)

Watch out! Don’t let your hearts be dulled by carousing and drunkenness, and by the worries of this life. (NLT)

Is your heart feeling weighed down or dulled?  Can I be honest and say that mine has been.  I needed to read these precious, yet strong words of Jesus.  It is so easy to rationalize being weighed down.  Pick up a newspaper, turn on your TV, browse to a news site … wake up in the morning!  The temptations are seemingly endless these days to be weighed down by the anxieties of life, the cares of this life or the worries of this life.  Whether they are happening somewhere “over there” or within your own family, the problems of this life can absolutely overwhelm us.  This truth is not modern and it is not exclusive to you or me.  These words of Jesus were needed then, and I needed them yesterday and when I woke up this morning.  I wonder if you did too.

So, do I just snap out of it, pick myself up by my bootstraps, stiffen my upper lip and because it’s worth doing, do it myself?  If I was interested in the world’s wisdom and solutions, yes.  But since I’ve learned and seek to live in the truth that I can’t and He can, I’ll choose instead the wisdom and truth of scripture:

For God has not given us a spirit of fearfulness, but one of power, love, and sound judgment.
2 Timothy 1:7 (HCSB)

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT)

Be still, and know that I am God!
Psalm 46:10a (NLT)

If your heart is feeling weighed down, rest on these truths.  If it is dulled, breathe in their life-giving power.  If we try to process the anxieties of life ourselves, we will live in a perpetual state of “end times.”  If we try to engage the cares of this world with its own wisdom, we will lose hope.  If we try to fight the worries of this life drawing from the well-source of our own power, we will be defeated.   I have been guilty of these lately.  In casting my cares, I’ve too often and too quickly reeled them back in.  I needed these words of Jesus.  If you did too, we are thanking God together!  If you need them now, I am praying to God on your behalf.  Rest and breathe in, my friend … rest and breathe in.