“Do not let your hearts be troubled” does not deny the things
that hurt the heart. That is why it is followed immediately by “believe in God,
believe also in me.” An untroubled heart is not an act of strength or stone
faced stoicism. It is as the apostle Paul writes a transformation brought about
by the renewing of the mind. (Romans 12:2) Even so “How can we know the way”
and “Show us the Father” are legitimate questions. More to the point, if the disciples
who saw Jesus “face to face” asked for proof how much more should we “who see
as through a mirror dimly” (1 Cor. 13:12) be allowed times of questioning. Jesus
didn’t say it explicitly but I’m certain it was part of the plan that when he
went off to design dwelling places he meant for the disciples to wait together
so that their hearts might beat as one. “Do not let your hearts be troubled” Is
not something one does alone. Maybe “the greater works than these” we do is to
live faithfully in the waiting time where “asking anything in my name” is not
as simple as it sounds. Listen. If you take this verse literally – ask anything
in my name and I will do it – your heart will be troubled or worse, hardened.
That is not to say our “ask anything” prayers fall on deaf ears. To live fully
and freely in a troubling existence means we trust that God’s heart beats as one with
ours in good times and bad but ultimately waits to reanimate our heart in the
final forever future where hearts are never troubled.
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