“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.” (John 14:1)

It’s so easy (and natural) to let this physical world and the circumstances around us dictate our level of confidence and peace. The COVID-19 pandemic is a perfect example of this, as for many this novel coronavirus is planting seeds of fear, anxiety, and despair in our hearts.

The words of Jesus in John 14:1 were spoken to His Jewish disciples shortly before He would be captured, tortured, and crucified. He had shared that one of them would directly betray Him, that Peter would deny Him, that each would desert Him, and that He was about to leave to a place where they could not immediately follow.

To say that what the disciples were seeing, hearing, and experiencing that night caused their hearts to be troubled, is probably a massive understatement. Like us, Christ’s disciples were human, and like us, they were subject to their human emotions and human rationale.

Yet knowing this, Jesus implores if not commands them, to not be troubled and to believe in Him. It’s one thing to believe in (a) God, another thing to believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and another thing to believe that Jesus Himself IS God Almighty and IS Yahweh, the God of their forefathers. Jesus is telling them that they don’t need to be worried or afraid (see v27) because their hope doesn’t lie in what’s going on around them, but their hope lies in Him, who is the God of all heaven and earth.

Chapter 14 ends with Jesus’s promise of the Holy Spirit and His peace, not as the world gives, but a help, comfort, and hope that can only come from God alone. As He reassured His disciples during a most chaotic and frightful night, so too does He reassure us today through His Word and His Spirit.

Do you truly believe that Jesus is God? Do you truly believe that He is all powerful and in control? Do you truly believe He is loving, gracious, merciful, and will strengthen and uphold you? Do you truly believe He is your healer, your provider, your comforter, your sustainer, your protector, your deliverer, your refuge, and your strong tower? If you don’t but want to get there, then pray that He would reveal Himself to you, repent of your sin, and by faith accept Him as Lord and Savior of your life today.

And if you already do, then may your genuine belief lead you to trust in Him above all else, and let not your heart be troubled!