When I was a child, I loved to go to my Dad’s farm to fish. We had a pet Boxer that, it just so happened, liked to jump in the water right where I was fishing! Often, I had to wait for her to exit so everything could settle and I could see where the fish were.
Life is like that. When things are stirred up, it’s tough to get a clear picture of what’s underneath. We have to let things settle before we can see again.
That’s one of the lessons from Holy Thursday, better known as Maundy (comes from a Latin word meaning command) Thursday. It was on this day that Jesus ate the last meal with the disciples, washed their feet, and gave them his final instructions.
Before he could do that, though, he had to get them settled back down so they could prepare for what was next. Why were they stirred up? He told them he was leaving, and they didn’t get it. His words rocked their world.
Their thoughts raced. They had so many questions.
Why is he leaving?
Didn’t we leave everything to follow him?
Didn’t we think he was “the one?”
It was at that moment Jesus spoke these words:
“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.” John 14:1-3 (NLT)
“Don’t let your hearts be troubled…” The word troubled in the original Greek can be translated as “stirred up.” Easier said than done, right? It’s upsetting when the bottom falls out of life right in front of you, and you are no longer tethered to the one you trusted the most!
Jesus’ next words are even more critical.
“Trust in God, and trust in me.”
There it is. The key to seeing clearly when things are stirred up is to trust in God. Why? Because He has a long-term plan. Jesus promises the disciples, “…you will always be with me where I am.”
Life is tough, especially over these past few years. So many of us feel more anxious, worried, and stressed out than ever before. The stress, though, keeps us from seeing clearly and thus, skews our perspective.
The message to us on this Maundy Thursday is a simple one. God sees what we can’t and knows what’s next. We just have to trust Him so that we can see clearly again.
