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OST of us know what it means to have a troubled heart. Fear, doubt, stress, loss, sadness: a variety of negatives can bring the dark clouds of trouble into our hearts. Jesus assured His disciples that this was not His objective. He told them that they could trust Him (John 14:1). He pointed to the end of their journey (John 14:2). Even if there were some shadowy hard times on the horizon, Jesus assured them that He had been beyond the horizon, and that He would be there again; this time with them. In fact, He promised to personally bring them to their ultimate destination (John 14:3). They had Him, there was nothing else that they needed (John 14:6). He was divine (John 14:9-11). And, His plans for them were perfect (John 14:12). They needed to know that He and His Father were truly generous (John 14:13-14). There was nothing to worry about.
Now, Jesus dealt (at length) with what the journey was going to look like for His apostles. First, He laid down the basic battle plan: love and obedience (John 14:15). What could the Christian church accomplish without love for Christ or without obedience to His word? Nothing. At least nothing positive of eternal consequence.
Then Jesus promised to protect His followers. Why should we have troubled hearts when we have the Almighty Comforter living in us (John 14:16)? We shouldn't (John 14:27)! The Spirit of Christ is infused into the children of God in this church age. Of course, the apostles did not have this blessing yet, because they still had the incarnate Christ. But they WOULD soon receive the Spirit on Pentecost, at which time these promises of Christ would be fully realized (John 14:26). They were destined to become temples for the Trinity – just as you and I are today (John 14:23). Is it reasonable to be troubled when you have the Father, Son and Holy Ghost living in us? Hardly! And yet, sometimes we are, aren't we? Having Jesus – the way, the truth and the life – we are set. Rejoice in this! Believers are now partners with the Almighty!
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