When I was a teen, sometimes I hung out with my dad while he worked in the yard. I remember once when I watched him scatter grass seed and drag the hose out to water it. As I stood beside him he said, "You have to moisten these so they'll germinate."
Dad often used words like "germinate," "copious," and a host of other big words.
So I had to chuckle when I translated. "So, you mean you have to water them so they'll grow?"
He gave me a sideways glance and said, "Smart aleck!" Even today, we repeat that story and laugh.
Words can be tricky. They're not necessarily wrong, but writers can use them in convoluted--no, complicated ways (oops, sorry, I'm becoming my dad). And as the culture changes, what used to be crystal clear now may read as complicated. In the classic novel Jane Eyre, for example, author Charlotte Brontë has her main character narrate the following: "I followed with lagging step, and thoughts busily bent on discovering a means of extrication . . ." Understandable, but this may trip up some of today's readers. Today, it might read like this: "I lagged behind him, my thoughts centered on finding a way to escape."
Many have translated the Bible from its King James version (the one that includes "thee," "ye," "doth," and many other olden-style words.) Recently, I read John 14:1 where Jesus says, "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me." Many of us may have heard it like this: "Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me" (the New King James Version).
Sometimes when we read, we need to switch on our internal translator or we may skip over something important. I've glossed over the word "let" whenever I've read this verse. It's just a simple word, right? The dictionary defines let as "to give permission or opportunity to; to allow." Only now have I realized that Jesus's message to "let not your heart be troubled" can be a source of strength as well as comfort.
When I'm upset by something, I tend to let it get to me. It weakens me. I turn it over and over in my mind and allow it to ruin my entire day. Now I understand that I have a choice. You have a choice. We don't have to allow our worries to take over our minds. Is this eye-opening for anyone else (or am I just a slow learner)?
Why should we let not? The rest of John 14:1 answers: Belief in God, in Jesus, indicates we can lean on Him when troubles torment us. Take our worries to Him, and trust Him to take care of it. Then we can continue our day, knowing that Jesus will handle the rest.
Is something really eating at you? Consuming you? Choose to turn it over to God; don't allow it to worm its way into your every waking moment.
Here's a supporting reason to let not our hearts be troubled. In the NIV Bible translation of Matthew 6:27, Jesus asks us, "Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?" Indeed, many studies have shown that prolonged worry and stress can even shorten our lives. Wow.
So as we live our days, navigating this often anxiety-ridden culture, I hope we remember that we have a choice. LET NOT our hearts be troubled. Take it all to Jesus. No one else can handle our problems so perfectly.
Until next time,
Toni
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