The Story Goes On

The next four chapters in the book of John are some of my favorite verses in the Bible and they are really verses that "turn my crank." Today, I will share my insights from the scriptures in John 14. Jesus is moving toward the ultimate act of love in the history of life itself, and He takes us on a "deep dive" into who He is, what He is going to do, and the effect it will have on our lives. I pray God will guide me beyond my impressions to what the Holy Spirit leads me to write, and it is my prayer to learn fresh truths from the following verses.

John 14:1 “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. 2 There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 3 When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. 4 And you know the way to where I am going.” 5 “No, we don’t know, Lord,” Thomas said. “We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. 7 If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him!”

In the midst of being accused of blasphemy, threatened to be stoned, and totally rejected by the religious leaders of the day, Jesus is concerned about those following Him, and that concern continues today as He ministers to all who are born again. In His opening words in the above verses, Jesus says Don't let your hearts be troubled. If I lose my base, my heart is gonna be troubled!! But Jesus. He is the change maker for me and those opening words do bring calm and promise as well. There are times when I cannot seem to see the shore when I am treading water in the deep parts of my anxiety. "Doubt can creep in like a snake and bite me, and then I also lose heart and strength. I don't mean to sound like someone who is just complaining about what is happening to me but it is also important to realize where I am and where I should be in my walk. I know people who have lost loved ones and been through numerous health situations themselves, and they will say that without Jesus, they would not have made it through. I admire their faith, but that assurance is possible for all who are struggling. How? The above words from Jesus in verse one pretty well sum up the whole thing. Then Jesus gives the reason we can not be troubled in the next part of verse one, where He says, Trust in God, and trust also in me. Trust (def) - believe in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of: Jesus is saying, "I am reliable." The following story by Tim Hansel illustrates the whole point. One day, while my son Zac and I were out in the country, climbing around some cliffs, I heard a voice from above me yell, "Hey, Dad! Catch me!" I turned around to see Zac joyfully jumping off a rock straight at me. He had jumped and then yelled, "Hey, Dad!" I became an instant circus act, catching him. We both fell to the ground. For a moment after I caught him, I could hardly talk.  When I found my voice again, I gasped in exasperation: "Zac! Can you give me one good reason why you did that???" He responded with remarkable calmness: "Sure...because you're my Dad." His whole assurance was based in the fact that his father was trustworthy. He could live life to the hilt because I could be trusted. Isn't this even more true for a Christian? 

The point is "we can trust God," and we SHOULD always trust God. In the good and the bad times, He is our constant. In the next verses in John 14, Jesus gets very specific about why we should trust Him about eternity and our eternal home in heaven. John 14: 2 There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 3 When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.

It is very difficult for some people to put their lives in the hands of the Savior because it is a "control" issue. He must be in control, or there is no control. Jesus is telling them that The Story Goes On into eternity, and He is giving a glimpse of truth for those who want to know exactly what is going to happen next. Control people want to know all the details and then they continue to control the narrative with this information that has been given to them. Crazy!! Jesus is saying, "Trust me," so we should trust Him and let Him take care of the details. Thomas added his adjective to his name after he said the following: 5 “No, we don’t know, Lord,” Thomas said. “We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. 7 If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him!”

Thomas was a believer and an apostle, but He wasn't a total believer to the point of trusting Jesus with His future. Jesus just calmly tells Thomas, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." End of story!! Thomas was a control freak, and He was born again, but he did not intimately understand who Jesus was for His future plans. We do the same thing, and in our ability to control the narrative, we throw doubt into the situation, and Jesus has to remind us to trust Him and Him alone. Throughout the Word of God, we see how those who say they follow God do not actually follow Him at times, and it comes back to trust. Do you trust yourself or Jesus? By putting oneself on the back burner, we put Jesus in the forefront, and He begins to lead us instead of just being with us.

If we will just learn to trust Jesus then that trust will affirm our faith. Finding out and building your trust comes through a concentrated study of God's Word. Read "the Word" with purpose. Don't just read a verse; absorb it. Give yourself over to His truth trust Jesus, and give control to Him totally. This is called Lordship, and it is a necessary ingredient for all believers, not just Doubting Thomas. You know what is right, just like Thomas knew, but get to know it even better by absorbing what God's Word is telling you. And then The Story Goes On! Trust God to catch you when you need it because He is here and He wants control.

Today's Message,

David Warren