“Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.” (John 14:1, NASB95)
When I was a kid, I loved to play baseball. I had this old glove and a beat-up ball that looked like it had been chewed up and spit out by a lawnmower. It was coming apart at the seams.
Well, as a self-respecting redneck, I knew exactly how to fix that baseball. I took a roll of duct tape and wound it around that sucker until it was usable again.
The world isn’t as easily fixed. It’s coming apart at the seams, too, except it can’t be fixed so easily with duct tape.
Pain and suffering abound. War and pestilence line the highway of human history. Death rules in this world, which is coming apart at the seams.
This reminds me of another snapshot from my childhood. An old song haunts my memory because of how spot on it is. It goes like this:
“Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen; nobody knows my sorrow…”
True. We live in a world that sometimes drives us to this kind of commiseration. In such instances, we may shout, “Why, Lord! Don’t you know what’s going on?”
But not the writer of this song. He finishes with a peculiar flourish:
“Glory, Hallelujah.”
Now imagine that. It’s like the writer is saying, “No one has more trials and tribulations than I do. But I’m going to shout, ‘Glory, Hallelujah.’”
Why? Why would anyone say “Glory, Hallelujah” right after talking about the sorrows of this unraveling world?
The answer is simple.
When you know Jesus, you know someone greater than pain. You know the story isn’t over. That’s the tension we live in as believers. The trouble is real, but the triumph is greater.
You see, our hope doesn’t come from our bank account, our job, our government, or even our own ability to hold things together. Our hope comes from Jesus Christ—His death, His resurrection, and His promises.
Faith in Jesus changes everything, and that faith is rooted in the sinless Son of God who gave His life for us. The cross showcased salvation. The tomb shouted victory and hope.
Jesus is the figure at the center of both of these events. Hope is found in Jesus. Always Jesus. Only Jesus.
Jesus — The Only Comfort We Have
Jesus said, “Do not let your heart be troubled.” That’s not a shallow comfort. It’s a deep, soul-level promise from someone who can actually back it up.
A promise is only as good as the one making it. And Jesus? He’s the best. He made that promise after predicting a number of specific events. Let’s take a look at a few.
He said He would be betrayed and killed: “For He will be handed over to the Gentiles, and will be mocked and mistreated and spit upon, and after they have scourged Him, they will kill Him.” (Luke 18:32–33, NASB95)
And then it happened: “So [Pilate] then handed Him over to them to be crucified.” (John 19:16, NASB95 Clarification mine)
But had He stopped there, we wouldn’t have known the best part. Jesus also said: “The third day He will rise again.” (Luke 18:33a, NASB95)
And He did, as the angels testified: “He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said.” (Matthew 28:6, NASB95)
Did you see it? The angels stated that Jesus rose “just as He said.” He says it. He does it. That’s a great reason to know for sure Jesus is a man of His word.
Also, Jesus backed up His promises with action simply because He could. John the Baptist looked at Jesus and said: “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29, NASB95)
In the Old Testament, God demanded perfection from all sacrifices. If a lamb had a defect, it was to be rejected. Needless to say, you wouldn’t have found any three-legged sheep gimping around the temple on Yom Kippur!
Only a perfect sacrifice could save broken people. That included “the Lamb that was slain” (Revelation 5:6), Jesus Christ. Only God is perfect. Which means the sacrifice would have to be God if it were to be truly perfect.
The problem is that God can’t die. But if you make God a man, He can become the perfect sacrifice God demanded. Jesus must be God which means He could easily pull off the stunning feat of dying for the sins of the world.
Because of all this, we can trust Christ.
That’s why He said, “Do not let your heart be troubled.” Find comfort in Jesus because He is a man of His word.
Jesus — The Only Access to Hope
And how do we hold on to that hope?
Jesus continues, “Believe in God, believe also in Me.”
There is no other path to salvation. None. Only Jesus.
There are some who have expressed concern about this “Only Way” idea. They claim it isn’t fair that God only provided one way. Why would He make salvation so exclusive?
Let’s look at it this way. Imagine if a doctor found the cure for cancer and someone said, “Nah, I think I’ll try essential oils.” The doctor insists this is the only way to be healed, and yet the patient continues to argue, finally rejecting the idea.
That’s what it’s like to reject Jesus for some man-made religion or personal philosophy. God only had to make one way. If He had made none after saying He would, He would be an evil God. Graciously, He made one way. There’s one cure. One Savior. Jesus.
All we need is one Way. That Way is Jesus.
That’s why the Savior says: “Believe also in Me.”
Jesus isn’t one of many ways. He is the Way.
“And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12, NASB95)
So What?
When everything else burns down, Jesus stands. That’s why our hope can stand too.
So don’t be troubled. You have Jesus. Find your hope in Him. He’s the only one who can give it to you.
With this knowledge in hand, we can sing the words of the old hymn:
“My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.”
When Jesus says, “Don’t let your heart be troubled,” He means it.
Believe in God. Believe also in Jesus. That’s where real hope lives.
Do you know Jesus? If not, find Him here.
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