Have you ever had times when your heart was so troubled it consumed you? You couldn’t eat, sleep, or even think about anything else for very long. Every conversation seems to always lead back to what was bothering you. This is the way the disciples were after Jesus had told them He would be going away. They did not understand, and to them, it did not make sense that He would leave them. They had only been ministering with Him for about three years, some a little shorter time period. They had big plans in mind when they left their jobs and followed Him. They did not know where this journey would take them but they were with Jesus and content to be serving with Him. They saw the miracles of the feeding of the five thousand in Matthew 14:21, and a little later, in Matthew 15:32, He fed the 4000. Both times, there were a few loaves of bread and a few fish. However, that was nothing to the one who created everything. They watched Him heal the sick, cast out demons, and bring people back to life. Jesus is the hope for the troubled heart. Yet, He was going away, and their hearts were troubled.
Matthew 15:32 “Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.”
In John 14:1, Jesus tells His disciples, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.” The disciples were distressed and needed comfort. Jesus knew this and addressed it. He noticed the looks on their faces and the anxiety in their voices as they asked questions about His betrayal. In John 13:21, Jesus told them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.”
Jesus knew every thought and feeling they had. He had compassion for them and was trying to console them. Yet, they only looked at the physical and ignored the spiritual. They had God sitting with them, teaching them, and giving them plenty of examples as to why they did not need to be troubled. He had told them and shown them that no matter how it looked, He was still in control. They did not need to be troubled.
They needed to believe Him. He had proved who He was by His life He lived on this earth. They needed to trust Him. He had directed them to trust God many times before. In John 14:2-3 Jesus gives them hope. “In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” He was trying to make them understand that He needed to go away. If He did not the Holy Spirit could not come. They would receive God the Holy Spirit in their hearts to guide them, comfort them, and help them as no one else could. Jesus in the flesh could only be in one place at a time because He had a physical body, but the Holy Spirit could be in the hearts of every believer all at the same time. He also needed to leave to prepare a place for them. A place that was perfect where they would live eternally. This place is where there will be no more needs.
We also need not have a troubled heart. Jesus has already won the battle. He has secured our home in Heaven. Our hope is in Him. He is perfectly capable of doing anything we desire, from the smallest to the greatest. Our hope is in an eternity that will be perfect. No more stress, no more disappointments, no more sickness – nothing bad will fill our minds again. We are on this side of the cross, and we know the rest of the story. Our hope should be much greater than the disciple’s.
When things go wrong, and our minds are troubled. Look to Jesus. He has the answers. Ask the Holy Spirit to comfort you and bring peace to your heart. God declares through the prophet Jeremiah that there is hope for all believers. God has a plan for each of us, and it is perfect! We have a sure hope, not a hope so, but one that is sure and steadfast and an anchor for the soul. God cannot lie, and He has promised an eternity with Him where all is perfect for His children.
Jeremiah 29:11”For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
Hebrews 6:19 “We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain.”
When you begin to lose hope, remember to place your hope in Him. When things flood your mind and cause distress, remember the hope He has promised. When everything else fails, Jesus never fails. Our hope is secure.
