‘Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ‘ John 14:6
We’ve all been there. We find ourselves at the end of our ropes. We find ourselves in trouble again. And the only place to look for the person who put us is the one staring back at us in the mirror.
‘There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death. ‘ Proverbs 14:12
We do things we “feel” are right daily, but we end up in a spot where we know we shouldn’t be. And here we are in trouble with our finances, relationships, job situation, etc. And sometimes we find ourselves in the same pickle again!!
But we’ve been through the program that promised us we’d be happy. We followed the steps, we did the deal, but here we are again.
I can personally relate to this. I was a personal development guy. I would take the courses, and on occasion, I would even follow the steps, and results would come for a while.
The problem is that doing it this way means that I rely on my ability to make things happen. Don’t get me wrong, we have a part to play, but when we feel that it is on us, we will falter at some point, and in some cases, we can end up worse than we began.
As a Christian, I have found that I have been asking the wrong question.
The question is not what should I do or not do, BUT who should I follow?
‘ “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. And you know the way to where I am going.” ‘ John 14:1-4
Jesus was with His disciples in the upper room before going to the Mount of Olives, where He would be betrayed. Before going out there, He encouraged His disciples who didn’t understand what He had to endure for their and our sakes.
Life Lesson: If we follow the example of Jesus, even when facing difficulties or challenges in our lives, we should be a source of encouragement to those around us.
This is the statement the disciples took issue with: “And you know the way to where I am going.”
The struggled with this. Thomas would go on to say:
‘“No, we don’t know, Lord,” Thomas said. “We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?” ‘ John 14:5
These were the men who had spent over three years in His presence, and they were confused by what He was saying. But in their minds, they didn’t understand why He was here. They were under the impression that He would establish His earthly Kingdom now. What would happen was so far from their minds that they missed what He was trying to tell them.
Jesus would respond to Thomas’s question with this verse we have heard often:
‘Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. ‘ John 14:6
This is a lesson that each of the men in this room would follow to their deaths, except for Judas, who betrayed Him.
If we spent more time exploring the Gospels and looking at how Jesus acted and responded to the people who came into His presence, we would have THE way that would work in any situation.
This gets to the part where we come in. Paul will write to the Romans:
‘And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. ‘ Romans 12:1-2
How do we let God “transform” our thinking? We submit our hearts to Jesus, study His life, and lay our desires down at His feet. The problems that we face in this world come when we put our desires in front of the Will of God for our lives.
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your grace, mercy, and forgiveness.
I pray that You continue to shape my mind to be more like Christ in my thinking and actions.
I pray that You will give me the courage to submit my desires to You and that my thinking, attitude, and actions glorify You in every way.
Thank You for the people You place in my path, I pray that when they see me they see You.
In the name of Jesus, I pray, Amen!!
