Having an Untroubled Heart, John 14:1-6

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me…”
Jesus spoke these words in the upper room, on the night of the Last Supper. He was about to be betrayed, arrested, beaten, and executed. He had told the Disciples that He will be leaving them. Even though He had been very clear, they did not understand. They did, however, feel the tension and sense the weight of that evening.
We are 2,000 years removed from that evening, but we still face tense moments and weighty times. We just celebrated Thanksgiving and are now moving into the Christmas season. There is a lot going on—a lot of shopping, decorating, and gathering—but that often masks troubled hearts. We live in a troubled world, and we have troubling things going on in our families, jobs, communities.
Notice that Jesus doesn’t tell His disciples to put on plastic smiles or to fake happiness. He tells them not to be troubled—distressed, despairing, or panicked. (They will be sad, and they will have a time of weeping, but they must not despair)
Then He follows with reasons for hope—reasons for comfort and calm.
As we open our passage, we will see that Jesus’ words were not just for the Eleven Disciples, they are for us as well.