The Encourager
“Comfort for Troubled Hearts - Jeff Curtis”
Comfort for Troubled Hearts
By Jeff Curtis
Jesus had revealed to His apostles that He would be leaving them, for the time had come for Him to return to the Father (John 14:12). This news was shocking to them. They had grown to trust in His earthly presence. With Him, they were confident, without Him, they were confused. Breaking the silence that must have followed, Peter asked, “Lord, where are You going?” He was told, “Where I go, you cannot follow Me now, but you will follow later” (John 13:37). “No,” said Jesus, in effect, “you will not. You will deny Me before the night is over.”
The darkness of that night had entered their hearts. They needed some reassuring. How did Jesus calm their fear? We can believe that what He gave to them, He also gives to us.
Jesus offered them a faith to embrace. He asked them to believe – in God and in Him. He gave them two essential things: “Believe in God, believe also in Me” (John 14:1). This was not a time for them to doubt; it was instead a time for them to trust. What had been promised to them had been fulfilled. God and Christ had provided them in the past and would continue to do as they were going through the nightmare that lay ahead of them.
When the shades of a dark night gather around us – when answers are few and the future is blurred because of tears in our eyes, we must continue to believe. God knows the way through the wilderness that comforts us, Jesus will hold on to us as we hold on to Him.
Jesus showed them a future to envision. He told them to anticipate living in the heavenly realm. He pointed to the beautiful future that the believe has. He said,
2 In My Father’s house are many [a]mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself” (John 14:2,3).
Difficult times should remind us that this world is not our eternal abiding place. We are pilgrims, workers who are here for a while and then gone. It has been said that “we are not citizens of this world trying to get to heaven, but citizens of heaven trying to get through this world.” We are unable to face our earthly woes and foes until, we have the image of our eternal home implanted firmly in our minds.
Jesus gave a fellowship to expect. He said to rejoice in the reunion that is to come. He reminded His apostles that their separation wouldn’t last forever. It was only temporary. He would bring them to the very place He was going, so that where He was, there they could be also (John 14:3).
The hope of heaven becomes even brighter when we remember the fellowship that it contains. We are not just going to a place; we are going to a reunion. The value of a reunion doesn’t lie in where it’s held, but who if there. Heaven contains a beauty that minds can’t comprehend, but the fellowship that will be enjoyed there doubles and redoubles its beauty. John wrote: “3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:3-4).
When the days are dark and our hearts are weary and confused, where can we go for the encouragement that our spirits crave? Jesus invites us to come to Him, saying, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” He wants us to believe in His faithfulness, anticipate the future He has in store for the saved, and rejoice in the wonderful fellowship that is to come.
Meditate on this:
Proverbs 17:27
He who has knowledge spares his words, and a man of understanding is of a calm spirit.
