November 24 — "When Jesus Spoke Through the Phone"

Today's Reading: John 14:1-14

The words floated through the phone line like they were coming from another world. I remember gripping the receiver, knuckles white, breath shallow. It was late, and my life felt like it was collapsing in on itself. Panic was tightening its grip. Hope felt like a rumor I’d never personally experienced. And then the counselor on the other end of the line gently spoke those words, “let not your heart be troubled.” I had never heard them before. I didn’t know they came from Jesus Himself. All I knew was that something inside me stilled, as if the room exhaled.

I told him my fears, the ones I’d never said out loud. He didn’t rush me. Didn’t preach. He simply brought me back to that sentence, repeating it slowly, like handing a cup of water to a man dying of thirst: “Let not your heart be troubled.” I could almost sense someone else in the room—Someone who wasn’t put off by the mess, Someone who wasn’t pacing with worry over who I’d become. This wasn’t a pep talk. It wasn’t therapy. It was an invitation.

The counselor told me those words came from Jesus on the night before He went to the cross, spoken to disciples who were terrified. It stunned me. If Jesus could speak peace into a night like that, into a room full of fear, dread, and confusion, maybe—just maybe—He could speak peace into my life as well.

And then came the moment. Not dramatic. Not cinematic. Just me, a trembling voice on a phone, whispering that I wanted this Jesus—the One who speaks calm into chaos, the One who tells troubled hearts to come home—to take my life. The weight didn’t lift instantly, but something shifted. A spark. A beginning. A Savior stepping into the wreckage without hesitation.

Looking back, I know exactly what happened. The voice through the phone wasn’t just a counselor’s. It was Jesus Himself calling my name, steadying my soul, and planting peace where panic had lived for far too long.

Since that night, everything has changed—not in a flash, and not without valleys, but unmistakably. The same Jesus who spoke to me through a phone line has become my constant Companion, the Shepherd of my soul, the Friend who never walks away. He has steadied me in storms that should have undone me and lifted me when I had no strength of my own. He has patiently shaped my heart, corrected my steps, and filled empty places I didn’t know how to name.

He has been my peace when anxiety pressed in, my wisdom when confusion clouded the path, my comfort when sorrow lingered, and my joy in seasons where joy made no sense. He has guided me through Scripture, guarded me in spiritual battles, and grown in me a confidence that rests not in myself but in His unfailing presence. And now the same voice that rescued me continues to lead me, day after day, whispering the invitation that changed everything: “Let not your heart be troubled.”