By Tyler Goss

John 14:1-17 “…trust in God…”

The first verse of John 14 doesn’t quite have the same punch unless you consider the passage before it. Chapter 13 ends with Jesus saying, “yeah…not trying to point any fingers here, but…one of you is definitely going to betray me **cough, cough, Judas, cough**” and then, after Judas awkwardly slips out, you, as the reader, think, “oh, Judas must just be the one bad apple out of the bunch. Surely, no other disciple will abandon Jesus like that.” But then good ol’ Peter chimes in, “Jesus, I would die for you.” Jesus, not missing a beat, replies “Die for me? I tell you the truth, Peter—before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me.” Or, as I like to think of it, Jesus says, “Die for me? Boy, please! You’re gunna turn your back on me before the rooster rolls out of bed in the mornin’!” Jesus’s closest friends don’t have his back when he needs them most. It’s like he’s saying, “friends…I can’t trust you.” But then Chapter 14 starts, and Jesus says, “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me.” Whoa! Wait up. Hold the phone. Did you catch it? You put the end of Chapter 13 right up against the start of Chapter 14 and it’s like Jesus is saying, “Friends…I can’t trust you anymore…but you can trust me.” We don’t have to be perfect to still trust in the Lord. We can come with our doubts, our insecurities, even our denials of Jesus, but Jesus still says, “Trust me.” You may say, from time to time, “Jesus, I don’t know if can follow you like I once thought I could”, and Jesus lovingly replies, “that’s ok…I’m still in it for you.”

Good News: You can bring your doubts and insecurities to Jesus and trust that he will still be there for you.

Discussion question: What does it look like to trust in God?

Go one step further: Check out this song, “I Have Made Mistakes” from The Oh Hello’s