Resting in God
“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.”
Have you ever received some news that completely turned your world upside down? Maybe it wasn’t something that others would consider devastating, but to you it felt like the end of your world. Maybe it was having to say goodbye to lifelong friends due to a family move. Or perhaps it was the reverse, and you had to say goodbye to a close friend that was moving across
the country. Either way, it had the effect of turning your whole world as you knew it upside down.
In John 13, Jesus delivers some shocking news to His disciples. Some news that understandably turned their world upside down. He was going to be leaving them. He says to them in verse 33, “Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, ‘Whither I go ye cannot come;’ so now I say to you.” Peter’s response in the next few verses is to ask where He is going and then to declare that he would lay down his life for Jesus. Thomas and Philip both go on to question Jesus in the next few verses as well. In spite of all the other important information Jesus was giving them, they all seemed fixated on the fact that he would be going where they couldn’t go. Now we have to remember that the disciples had been with Jesus basically 24/7 for the past 3 years. Also, they had left their homes, their families, and their
livelihoods–everything they had–to follow Him. When we consider these things, it is easy to see why they would be alarmed to hear that Jesus would be leaving. Now, should they have already known that this was coming? Probably. But as we will see in the next several verses, Jesus still responded to their questions with compassion and love. For instance, In verse 33, He refers to them as “little children,” a term of special love and endearment. In verse 36, he assures them
they will “follow afterward.” He leaves them with a wonderful hope. In chapter 14 verse 1, He gives them these words of comfort and reassurance: “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.” And then in 4:18, He says, “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.”
Jesus had told them that where He was going they could not follow, but in John 14:2-4, He reveals why…and it’s a good thing! “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so I would have told you, I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there you may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.” John 14: 2-4 Jesus would be leaving them, but He was going so that He could prepare for us to be with Him in glory. He was leaving them with a wonderful hope, just as He leaves us. Not only this, but He goes on in chapter 14 to explain to the disciples that He would not be deserting them. No, He would be leaving them with another person of the Godhead — the Holy Spirit! Jesus words to His disciples in John 13 and 14 can be a great comfort to us as believers. No matter what God has in store for us in this lifetime, we can know without a shadow of a doubt that He loves us, that He is preparing for us, and that He will never leave us comfortless. The disciples may have had Jesus physically with them for a time, but we have the Holy Spirit, God himself, living inside us! He is there to comfort us, to reveal truth to us, and to give us the ability to say “no” to sin and “yes” to God. So when you are discouraged, when you feel like the world is against you, or when you just don’t understand what God is doing, remember Jesus’ words to His disciples in these chapters. Jesus loves you and cares for even the smallest hurt in your life. He loves his “little child” and will always do what is best for His children, even when life hurts.