Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled

John chapter 14 carries in it the antidote for a troubled heart. Verse one begins with the verse, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” We cannot control many of  the difficulties that enter our lives, but we can control our responses to them. This chapter tells us how to do just that.

The very key to overcoming stress is found in verse one - “Trust in God.” This verse was important to the disciples as they knew that the religious leaders wanted to kill Jesus; Jesus had just revealed that one of them was going to betray them; He also shared that Peter was going to betray Him. The disciples were likely shook up and were in need of some reassurance.

In verses 2-4, Jesus shares reasons why we can trust Him. First, in verse 2, He talks about His Father’s house, how there are many rooms and how He is going there to prepare a place for us. “Many rooms” is another way of saying “dwelling places” and indicates a permanence (NIV text note). “My Father’s house” refers to heaven. Warren Wiersbe points out the assurance that “Heaven is a real place. . . Heaven is the place where God dwells and where Jesus sits today at the right hand of the Father. Heaven is described as a kingdom (2 Peter 1:11), an inheritance (1 Peter 1:4), a country (Hebrews 11:16), a city (Hebrews 11:16) and a home (John 14:2). . . Heaven is ‘my Father’s house’ according to the Son of God. . . It is ‘home’ for God’s children.” In verse 3, Jesus reassures us that He will come back to take us to the place He has prepared for us. And in verse 4, Jesus says that we know the way to the place He is preparing. Just as the disciples needed this assurance, so do we today.

In verses 5-11, we read about Thomas and Phillip asking Jesus to clarify what He was saying. Thomas comments that they don’t know where Jesus is going, so how can they know the way? Jesus responds by saying that He is the way, the truth and the life; and that no one can go to the Father except through Him. Wiersbe writes about Thomas by saying, “Thomas’ question revealed his keen desire to be with Jesus, and this meant that he had to know where the Master was going and how he himself would get there. The Lord made it clear that He was going to the Father, and that He was the only way to the Father.” The NIV study Bible adds that Jesus’ response can be interpreted as “I am the way (to the Father) in that I am the truth and the life.”

Wiersbe’s commentary goes on to say, “Jesus does not simply teach the way or point the way; He is the way. In fact, ‘the Way’ was one of the early names for the Christian faith. Our Lord’s statement, ‘No man cometh unto the Father but by me,’ wipes away any other proposed way to heaven - good works, religious ceremonies, costly gifts, etc. There is only one way, and that way is Jesus Christ.” This is the key to the Christian faith. It greatly saddens me personally that so many have the idea that heaven is meant for “good people” alone. This is not what Scripture teaches.

Wiersbe also writes that “this assurance of heaven was meant to ease the disciples’ troubled hearts. . . The assurance of a heavenly home at the end of life’s road enables us to bear joyfully with the obstacles and battles along the way. It was this assurance that even encouraged our Lord, ‘who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross’ (Hebrews 12:2). Paul had this truth in mind when he wrote, ‘For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us’ (Romans 8:18).’” I can speak personally that this promise was indeed what sustained us through my husband’s cancer treatment. Knowing that the difficulties we were facing were only for a short time in comparison to eternity in heaven, made all things more bearable. And also knowing that if the Lord chose to take Dennis from us, it was not forever. We had the hope of being together again in heaven.

Jesus took this assurance even further in verse 7 by stating that if Thomas really knew Jesus, he would know His Father as well and that from now on he would know Him and had seen Him. Wiersbe writes that “when Jesus said that knowing Him and seeing Him was the same as knowing and seeing the Father, He was claiming to be God. From now on, they would understand more and more about the Father, even though Jesus was leaving them.” Because Thomas knew Jesus, he already knew the Father.

Phillip questions Jesus further by asking Him to show them the Father. Jesus responds by stating that Phillip should know that Jesus is in the Father and the Father is in Him. Jesus speaks with the authority of the Father and the miraculous works Jesus did were done by the Father through Him. Jesus reveals the trinity. We have a relationship with the Father through faith in the Son. The Holy Spirit is the power of God working in the believer’s life to fulfill His will. The NIV study Bible notes that “saving faith is trust in a person but it must also have factual content. Faith includes believing that Jesus is one with the Father.” Wiersbe writes that “Phillip had a desire to know the Father. . . (and that) ‘the burning desire of every believer ought to be to know God better. We read and study the Word of God so that we might better know the God of the world. . . We can know the Father and maker of the universe, for Jesus Christ revealed Him to us. Why should our hearts be troubled when the Creator and Governor of the universe is our own Father? The very Lord of heaven and earth is our Father (Luke 10:21). There is no need for us to have troubled hearts, for He is in control.”

In verses 12-14 Jesus explains that believers will do what Jesus had been doing. . .and even greater things. He goes on to say that whatever we ask in His name He will do. This is “not simply prayer that mentions Jesus’ name but prayer in accordance with all that the person who bears the name is. It is prayer aimed at carrying out the work Jesus did” (NIV text note). Praying in Christ’s name “is not a ‘magic formula’ that we automatically attach to our prayer requests, guaranteeing that God will answer. To ask anything of the Father, in the name of Jesus, means that we ask what Jesus would ask, what would please Him, and what would bring Him glory by furthering His work. . . To know God’s name means to know His nature, what He is, and what He wants to do. God answers prayer in order to honor His name; therefore, prayer must be in His will” (Wiersbe).

Wiersbe adds that “we must pray in faith. . . Faith and works must always go together, for it is faith that releases the power of God in our lives. Both love and obedience are part of effective prayer. . . We do not obey the Lord simple because we want our prayers answered. . . We obey Him because we love Him, and the more we obey Him, the more we experience His love. To ‘keep’ His commandments means to value them, treasure them, guard them  and do them.” A troubled heart can be soothed by believing prayer.

In verses 15-17 Jesus introduces the “Helper”. In the Greek, the word means “Counselor” or “Comforter“. It literally means one who is called alongside. It is the “Helper” who would comfort the disciples when Jesus was gone and who would help them carry on the mission Jesus gave them to do. The gift of the Holy Spirit would be given to those who love Jesus. It would be received in spirit from the Father. We can trust that he lives in us and will be in us. Wiersbe writes that “we cannot live the Christian life as God would have us live it. We must know who the Holy Spirit is, what He does, and how He does it.” The NIV study Bible notes that “the spirit is characterized by truth. He brings people to the truth of God.” Wiersbe goes on to say that “Comfort is often associated with ‘soothing someone (or) consoling him or her. . . But true comfort strengthens us to face life bravely and keep on going.” When Jesus promised another Helper, He meant “another of the same kind as He is; another who is fully God and who will remain

The Holy Spirit is not available to everyone, however, because according to verse 17, the world neither sees Him nor knows Him. Only believers in the Son will receive the Spirit. Wiersebe says, “If we want the Holy Spirit to work in our lives, we must seek to glorify Christ, and we must make much of the Word of God. . . To be filled with the Spirit is the same as to be controlled by the Word. The Spirit of truth uses the Word of truth to guide us into the will and the work of God. . . The Spirit of God had dwelt with the disciples in the person of Jesus Christ. Now He would dwell in them. . . The world cannot receive the Spirit because the world lives ‘by sight’ and not by faith. Furthermore, the world does not know Jesus Christ, and you cannot have knowledge of the Spirit apart from the Son.”

In verse 18, Jesus says He will not leave the disciples as orphans; but will come to them. “He means that prior to Pentecost, the Holy Spirit would be with these men, alongside them, but not in them. Since Pentecost, believers receive the Holy Spirit the moment they come to Christ. When He comes to indwell, He remains forever” (Harvest study). Wiersbe adds that “we are not alone, abandoned, helpless, so why should we feel like orphans? There is no need to have a troubled heart when you have the very Spirit of God dwelling within you.”

Jesus continues to offer comfort to His disciples in the remaining verses of chapter 14. In verse 19, Jesus promises that we will see Him. If Jesus had (shown) Himself to the world sooner, it would have meant judgment. Instead “He has revealed Himself to His church and left the church in the world to be a witness of God’s love. He is patiently waiting, still giving lost sinners opportunity to repent and be saved (2 Peter 3:1-10). One day he will return (Revelation 1:7) and the world will behold Him” (Wiersbe).

In verse 20, Jesus said the disciples would come to understand that Jesus was in the Father; that they were in the Jesus; and that He was in them. When we choose to believe in Christ as Savior, we are “children of God, adopted forever into the family of God” (Harvest study).

When we accept Christ as Savior, we will desire to obey God. The result will be that we are loved by the Father. Love for Christ cannot be separated from obeying His commands. Wiersbe writes “if we treasure His Word and obey it, then the Father and the Son will share their love with us and make Their home with us. . . When the sinner trusts Christ, he is born again, and the Spirit immediately enters his body, bears witness that he is a child of God. The Spirit is resident and will not depart. But as the believer yields to the Father, loves the Word, prays and obeys, there is a deeper relationship with the Father, Son and Spirit. Salvation means we are going to heaven, but submission means that heaven comes to us. . . Our experiences with God ought to go deeper and deeper, and it will as we yield to the Spirit of truth and permit Him to teach us and guide us. If we love God and obey Him, He will manifest His love to us in a deeper way each day.”

Wiersbe adds that “one of the best ways to ease a troubled heart is to bathe it in the love of God. When you feel like an “orphan”, let the Spirit of God reveal God’s love to you in a deeper way.” Charles Spurgeon said, “Little faith will take your soul to heaven, but great faith will bring heaven to your soul.”

As the chapter ends, Jesus states that He would leave His peace with the disciples. “When you are enjoying God’s peace, there is joy and contentment. But God’s peace is not like the ‘peace’ that the world offers. . . The world bases its peace on its resources, while God’s peace depends on relationships. To be right with God means to enjoy the peace of God. The world depends on personal ability, but the Christian depends on spiritual adequacy in Christ. In the world, peace is something you hope for or work for, but to the Christian, peace is God’s wonderful gift, received by faith. Unsaved people enjoy peace when there is an absence of trouble; Christians enjoy peace in spite of trials because of the presence of power, the Holy Spirit. . . People in the world walk by sight and depend on the externals, but Christians walk by faith and depend on the eternals. The Spirit of God teaches us the Word and guides us into the truth. He also reminds us of what He has taught us so that we can depend on God’s Word in the difficult times of life. The Spirit uses the Word to give peace (John 14;27), His love (John 15:9-10) and His joy (John 15:11). If that does not calm a troubled heart, nothing will!”

Jesus desired the disciples to be glad about His going to the Father. He told them these things ahead of time so that they would believe in Jesus. Jesus’ “return made possible His wonderful intercessory ministry on our behalf” (Wiersbe).

Jesus then lets the disciples know that He will not be speaking with them much longer because Satan would be coming. He would be showing how great His love for the Father was by doing exactly what God had commanded Him to do. “Jesus showed His love for the Father (and for the world) by voluntarily going to the cross. He did  not hide or flee. He willingly laid down His life. . . His own perfect peace assures us that He alone can give true peace. Jesus was always the master of the situation, and He enables us to take control of our lives as we surrender to Him and receive His legacy of peace” (Wiersbe).

Are you troubled? Do you desire peace? Seek Jesus. He is the answer to your troubled heart.

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