Let Not Your Heart

So as the 14th chapter of John opens, we see Jesus & His apostles in the upper room where they have eaten the Passover meal together.

Jesus knew exactly what the next few hours would bring. He knew that Judas would betray Him.

He knew about the illegal trials of the night, & how troubled the apostles would

be.

He knew of the cross & the borrowed tomb. And He tried to prepare the apostles for all of that. So He begins to comfort them.

Have you ever had one of those days when everything goes wrong? It doesn’t

make any difference how hard you try, it just seems that everything backfires on

you? The harder you try, the worse it gets. I’m convinced that all of us have

had days like that.

The disciples were going to have some days like that….He was the promise and yet He would die on a cross.

I. TRUST IN MY PRESENCE

Listen to His words in vs. 1. "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God,

trust also in Me."

A. What is Jesus saying there? Is He saying, "You trust in God, now it’s time to

trust also in Me?" Or is He saying, "I know you trust in God, & you also trust

in Me. Now remember, when you can no longer see Me, don’t stop trusting in Me."

You see, we have always found it easier to trust in things that we can see &

touch. We have a little bit of Thomas in us, don’t we? Remember, Thomas said,

"Unless I see the nail marks in His hands & put my fingers where the nails were,

& put my hand into His side, I will not believe it" (John 20:25).

So Jesus shows him & he believes. Jesus then said, "Thomas, because you have

seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen & yet have

believed" (John 20:29).

Now, Jesus knowing the future which lay before his disciples, gave them

encouragement to get them through. And the first thing he says to them is “You

trust in God, now trust in me.”

And this is really the foundation for finding peace to get through these tough times.

All of the other things that he said to them were hinged upon this one secret. TRUST IN HIM.

Faith is knowing that God CAN change things. Trust is knowing that God WILL do what’s best.

It’s trust that keeps you floating until the miracle comes.

WHAT WE CAN SEE IS ONLY TEMPORARY.

The story is told about a busy mother who put her two children to bed.

After tucking them in & listening to their prayers, she bid them good night &

heaved a sigh of relief saying, "At last, I can have some time to myself."

So she went into the bathroom, took a nice warm shower, & washed her hair.

Stepping out of the shower, she put on her old robe, wrapped her head in a

towel, applied a thick layer of white moisturizer to her face, & then headed for

the den.

But just then she heard sounds of commotion & a pillow fight going on in the

boy’s bedroom. Irritated, she threw open their door, said, "You kids get right

back in bed & don’t make another sound." Then she turned off the light & slammed

the door. The two kids turned to each other & said, "Who was that?"

We look in the mirror & see our aging bodies, & realize that they are temporary,

too. All the things you can see & touch, are only here for a little while & then

are gone.

This is a hard lesson for us to learn, isn’t it? Yet it is an important lesson, because when we face troubles & difficulties in life, we need to remember as Christians that Jesus has promised, "Lo, I am with you always. I will never leave you nor forsake you. Trust in My presence."