“But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. “And do not be afraid of their threats,
nor be troubled
“Troubled” means disturbed, agitated or ruffled, stir up, disturb, unsettle, throw into confusion, shake together, frightened, terrified. In this passage it means to not to allow ourselves to be intimidated, confounded, agitated, disturbed, disquieted. This is mental and spiritual agitation and confusion. People can trouble our minds, if we let them, we violate this command.
Secular Greek used this term for throwing an army into confusion and disorder. Thus, the army enters into anarchy and confusion. Are you in some sort of uproar because of acute emotional distress or turbulence? God does not want us to be in great mental distress — “Do not be distressed”
Principle:
God provides a way for us not to be upset by our enemies.
Application:
God does not want trouble to get us down. Do not let that situation you’re facing get you down. Rise above it. When someone asks, “How do you feel?”, we often respond, “I feel pretty good under the circumstances.” But we are not supposed to be under the circumstances. God expects us to be on top of the circumstances.
“Yes, but I’m defeated. I’m whipped. I do not know which way to turn. I cannot make heads or tails of the mess I’m in.” What does it take to have a content mind? What would you give to have a content mind? Contentment frees us from greedily grasping for more — more money, more power, more prestige.
“Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).
When pressure hits at a point in time, this person becomes disturbed and upset. The opposite of this is to be relaxed. We are free. No one is free until they are occupied with Christ. No one can witness without fear until they understand the presence of Christ in their lives. A young man shows his girlfriend’s picture with pride. He does not tie himself up in knots talking about her. He is relaxed about it. He is proud of her. A Christian who loves his Lord tells of his grace with pride.
Our hearts automatically gravitate towards trouble. Because our hearts are trouble-prone we have a world filled with disturbed people. It does not take much to disturb some of us. We hear people say, “I am upset.” This is the meaning of “troubled.” To be upset means to be upside down. Why do we become upset so quickly? What made us blow our top?
What troubles you just now? “It is not what you eat that kills you. It is what is eating you that kills you.” What is eating at you today? What is eating your heart out? What robs you of the peace that should be yours as a twice-born person?
“Man who is born of woman
Is of few days and full of trouble” (Job 14:1).We gravitate to trouble. We have a knack for trouble. We stew about it and it looms larger and larger until we break under trouble.
“This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles” (Psalm 34:6).“The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears,
And delivers them out of all their troubles” (Psalm34:17).“Call upon Me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me” (Psalm 50:15).God not only saves us from sin but he saves us from trouble. Physicians listen to people narrate their troubles all day. If he took all that home with him each night he would burn out quickly. We have one who takes all our problems to himself (
Psalm 55:22 ;Hebrews 4:16 ;1 Peter 5:7 ).Trouble comes in many packages. What kind of trouble do you face today? Why not put the situation in God’s hands? Have you had bad news today? Have you had hurtful news about your children? That kind of trouble comes in an ugly package. How do you handle your problems? Do you take those issues to yourself? Some of us never learn what to do with our problems. If we take our problems to ourselves it will make us old ahead of time. It will stoop our shoulders and break our hearts.
“He will not be afraid of evil tidings; His heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD” (Psalm 112:7).
God comforts us in the midst of our trials (
2 Corinthians 1:3,4 ). God permits us to go through deep waters so that He can encourage us. We then can encourage other Christians who are in trouble. We then become fellow-workers with God. We can be a blessing to someone in trouble.
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