Durng the First World War, there was a popular song with the lines ‘Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag and smile, smile, smile!’ It tried to encourage people at a time of great anxiety and trepidation that there was no point worrying (‘what’s the use of worrying? It never was worth while!’) and that maintaining a positive attitude is a great benefit to us at all times.
As people, we often find ourselves worrying and doubting. Even after the Resurrection, when Jesus appeared to His disciples, “they were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, ‘Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.’” (Luke 24:37-39) Seeing Jesus in the flesh raised as many questions as it answered and there was confusion and anxiety for some time.
I find it encouraging to know that the disciples struggled with exactly the same temptations which face us all, and even more encouraging that Jesus reassured them of His reality and continues to do this. When we are troubled and have questions and doubts, He is there with us. He is real. He is not a figment of our imaginations or simply a nice story to make children feel better. He is the Risen Lord who has conquered death and holds the keys of death and hell. (Rev 1:18)
