Read: John 13:33-14:7
Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. (v. 1)
During the terrorist attack in 2001 on the World Trade Center, there was mass panic in the building. Building announcements told people to stay where they were. One department head told his staff to ignore those instructions and to follow him instead, single file down the stairs. All those who did so survived. But they had to trust that their leader knew what he was doing.
When Jesus asked the disciples to follow him, they trusted him. They stayed with him for three years. But then (though it must have felt sudden) he told them he was leaving. Feeling confused, Peter, Thomas, and Philip all spoke up with worried questions. Jesus sensed this. “Don’t worry,” he said, “Trust me! If you believe in God, then believe in me too.” In essence, he told them, “Focus on me and my Father who sent me. Even if it doesn’t seem to make sense to you now” (see 14:7).
Nobody truly knows what the future holds. We try to predict it in order to assuage our worries, but in Matthew 24:6-7, Jesus warns that there will be “wars and rumors of wars,” international rivalries, and “famines and earthquakes.” Yet Jesus did not want his disciples to be alarmed, nor does he want us to be troubled and anxious (John 14:1). Instead, he promised to prepare a place in his Father’s home, guaranteeing that we would be with him forever (vv. 2-3), regardless of what happens on this earth.
As you pray, ask that your troubled heart become a trusting heart, relying on “the way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).
About the Author
Denise Vredevoogd
Denise Vredevoogd is a private piano teacher who lives near Grand Rapids, Michigan. She enjoys reading, writing, gardening, and spending time in nature with her adult sons and daughters.
