Daily Devotional
The Way in Trouble
Trouble runs through these readings: thirst in the wilderness, a sleepless soul, a ruined girdle, disciples with troubled hearts. Yet Scripture does not teach us to answer trouble with murmuring, deceit, or empty religious claims. Israel had seen the sea opened and still contended at the rock. Judah was chosen to cleave to the Lord and became instead like a garment spoiled and buried in the earth. A man may say he knows God, yet if he refuses the Son, his boast is wind.
Our Lord therefore speaks plainly: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life: and no man comes unto my Father, but through me.” The road to the Father is not pride, ancestry, or outward nearness to holy things, but obedience to the Son who speaks the Father’s words. To ask in his name is not to use a phrase with careless lips; it is to remain in his teaching and do what pleases him. The Comforter is given not to the disobedient as a cloak, but to those who love Christ and keep his commandments.
When the heart is troubled, the Psalm teaches us to remember the mighty works of God. He who led his people through the deep has not become weak. “for in His works, and in all the movements of the world, we behold His power ever present when He thunders, lightens, darts His bolts, or when He makes all bright again.” Therefore let a man stop his complaining tongue, confess his falsehood, and return to the way. The house prepared by Christ is for those who follow Christ.
“John 14:6 Jesus said to him, I am the way, and the truth, 35 and the life: and no man comes unto my Father, but through me.”
— Tatian, The Diatessaron
“for in His works, and in all the movements of the world, we behold His power ever present when He thunders, lightens, darts His bolts, or when He makes all bright again.”
— Minucius Felix, Octavius
For Reflection & Discussion
What murmuring or sharp speech must you stop today, and to whom must you instead speak truthfully and peaceably?
What concrete act of obedience to Christ’s commands will you keep today—prayer at the appointed hour, reconciliation with an enemy, or alms for someone in need?
What lie or hidden corruption must you confess and put away today so that you do not cling to God in name while resisting his Son in deed?
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