May 16, 2025 // Friday of the Fourth Week of Easter

Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s Gospel:  John 14:1-6

Reflect on the Word // 

I rolled into the school’s car lane for pick-up and turned off the engine. I looked forward to these moments in the afternoon. Alone in the car without any distraction. Free to read, respond to messages, or sift through my thoughts, which contained dinner ideas or whatever else was pressing at the moment. In that moment of decompressing I realized a lot of what I was thinking about were things that I couldn’t control. Sitting in the silence, though, calmed my frustration and defeatist attitude. The pressure in me was deflating like a bike tire with a slow leak, and it was a leak that I didn’t need to patch.

In this moment of recollection, I further scanned for the inner “repairs” I needed and realized I hadn’t asked Jesus to take over as my “mechanic.” However, not once in His Word has He ever declared, “You need to have it figured out,” or “You need to know where all the parts go.” 

Instead, very patiently He says in today’s Gospel, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me” (John 14:1).  Rather than let our thoughts hold us captive in a continuous cycle of motion, we can accept the “interior tune-up” that the Lord offers us. Thomas felt a similar need when he asked, "Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?” (John 14:5) He had the humility to recognize that he needed the Lord’s directions. We also can learn to rely on Jesus, Who says to us, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6).

Sister, when we allow Him to lead, our freedom increases and our momentum is no longer stagnant. He is the truth that we seek and the way that leads to a life filled with hope. 

Relate to the Lord // In what ways does your heart need a tune-up today? Share it with Jesus.