The Sphere Where Calm Is Essential
“Let not your heart he troubled.” — John xiv. i.
TROUBLED things are not always on that account unbeautiful. Why do we find more beauty in the sea than in a pool? Just because it is more capable of being troubled. Why do we find more beauty in a strong intellect than in a weak one? Just because it is more capable of being troubled. The unrest of a material object and the unrest of a human intellect is the sign of energy. But the unrest of a heart is not. The unrest of a heart is the sign of want of energy. The sea shows its power in a storm; the intellect shows its power in a difficulty; but the heart only shows its power in a great calm. The heart’s power is the heart’s fixedness. The glory of a ship is its ability to sail; but the glory of a heart is its ability to lie at anchor — to be moored somewhere. My heart has no strength when it is saihng in search of harbour; it is only strong when it is cabled to the shore. I have read that an angel came down to trouble a pool; but I am never told that an angel came down to trouble a heart. Many things trouble the heart, but none of them are angels. It needs a cloudless trust, a sure confidence, a settled calm. It needs not only to love, but to he loved, and to know that it is loved. Doubt of love’s reality is the heart’s paralysis; despair of love’s reality is the heart’s death. Whatever else be tossed upon life’s sea, let not your heart be troubled!
I thank Thee, O Lord, that Thou hast been so solicitous for the peace of my heart! It proves to me that Thou hast prepared a place for my love. Thou wouldst never have said, “Let not thy heart be troubled!” if Thou hadst no place for my love. How could my heart be calm if love were a finite thing, a perishable thing! If Thou hadst no mansion for my love, it were mockery to say, “Let not your heart be troubled!” My heart cannot be quiet amid autumn leaves; it can build no nest in the cemetery. Therefore Thy words can only mean, ‘’ Put away your fear of the cemetery; your heart shall be satisfied — satisfied evermore! “I thank Thee for that promise! My heart cannot vibrate until it is satisfied. Other sides of my being vibrate best when w?isatisfied. My aspirations come from my mind’s hunger. My fancy is a cry for something more than I have. My desire for knowledge is wakened by what I do not know. But my heart is wakened by what it possesses. Its pulses cannot beat in uncertainty. It cannot work till it” rests from its labours.’’ It must be satisfied early in the morning — ere it goes out to the toils of the day. I bless Thee for that morning glow! I bless Thee that before the journey Thou hast led my heart to the fountain! I bless Thee that its vision of heaven has preceded its walk on earth! I bless Thee that it has seen eternity ere it has compassed time! Only the 7/ntroubled heart can walk upon the troubled sea; therefore I praise Thee for this antecedent calm!