John 14 (NKJV) begins by saying “Let your heart not be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me”. What Jesus is saying is "Keep possession of your own soul." It's the only thing you can really keep possession of! You do that by believing on the Lord.
The instruction from this verse is to not let your heart be troubled. The “how” behind that instruction is to believe in God and in His Son Jesus. This means don’t be anxious. Don’t be worried. Be focused on what you believe in. Be focused on Who you believe in. Some folks walk around worried about making a living. You can’t even make a breath without God! Let your focus be on knowing God. Rest assured that you are His focus. Knowing this is how you keep your heart from being troubled.
The next verse says “In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would not have told you”. That’s like saying “Are you listening to me?” or “Do you believe me?”. In order to shed light on an attack of the enemy I want to encourage you to ask yourself “Do I truly believe the Word of God?”. If you do, you can take captive every thought that is in defiance to that Word and make it obey Christ!
Sometimes we get to thinking “Nobody understands me!” “Nobody knows how I grew up”, “Nobody knows what I’ve been through!”, or “Nobody knows how I feel”. Can I tell you something that’s hard for our flesh to hear but lines up with our spirit? Those statements are lies. Everybody knows how you feel. Everybody. 1 Corinthians 10:13 tells us that “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man.” Everybody deals with the same feelings at times. Even Jesus dealt with those feelings when He was on Earth. If you think someone hasn’t ever felt like you it may just be because they have gotten ahold of the Word of God and they have learned to take thoughts captive and shut feelings down!
In response to what Jesus said in the beginning of John 14, Thomas has a reply. When I read it I imagine he said it with a little whine. Have you ever started a prayer with “Lord” but said it in a little bit of a whine? Something along the lines of “Lord, I know you blessed me with my spouse. But why do they act the way they do?” or “Lord, I just don’t understand (x, y, or z)?” That’s how I imagine Thomas speaking in verse 5 when he says “Lord, we do not know where you are going, and how can we know the way?”. He was feeling nervous about where Jesus was going and he wanted instructions on how to get there too!
Jesus responded in verses 6 and 7 saying “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you has know Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.” Let me ask you this. When people see you do they know the Father or do they know your problems and your issues? Do you look more like Your Father or like the battle you’ve been in?
Let's look at verses 8-10 in The Message Translation “Philip said, “Master, show us the Father; then we’ll be content” “You’ve been with me all this time Philip, and you still don’t understand? To see me is to see the Father. So how can you ask, ‘where is the Father?’ Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you aren’t mere words. I don’t just make them up on my own. The Father who resides in me crafts each word into a divine act”.
This passage is Jesus saying once again, “if you know Me, you know my Father”. He made it clear to the disciples that no words came from His mouth that weren’t words crafted by the Father. Can you say the same? You may say “Well Pastor, that was Jesus, I’m just a man”. Let me empower you with this verse, 1 John 4:17! “As He is, so are we in this world”!
I encourage you to take the time to read and meditate on John 14. Let that Word go to work on your heart and mind. Think on it until it becomes a part of you. Until you are walking it out! Until you look like your Father and sound like your Father! The only way to walk like Him and talk like Him is to know Him. And the only way to know Him is to read His Living Word. We say this often because it’s so true! It’s crucial to your walk with the Lord that you understand who He is. We cannot be imitators of Christ until we know Him intimately! Get into the Word today and get to know Him better. Be blessed!
