He’s Coming Back for Us - Revelation – A Study of Last Things

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Read John 14:1-3 (ESV)

Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

Reflect

How does this verse encourage you?

“Let not your hearts be troubled” sometimes sounds easier said than done, doesn’t it? The world seems to have gone completely haywire! There are plenty of things to be troubled about. It sometimes leaves people to wonder if God just abandoned us and left us to our own devices.

But in today’s verses, Jesus assured us that our hearts should not be troubled because even though He has gone away, He has not abandoned us. He left us for a purpose—to prepare a place for us. And He left us with a promise—that He is coming back for us.

When Jesus spoke these words to His disciples they were eating the Last Supper together and Jesus was trying to prepare them for what was ahead. Jesus knew He was going to be arrested and crucified. He also knew it was going to bewilder and terrify His disciples. While the events of Good Friday were exactly what Jesus expected, they were not at all what the disciples were expecting.

They believed that Jesus was the Messiah and that He had come to save them. So why was He leaving them? Wasn’t He going to establish His Kingdom right then and there? Wasn’t He going to overthrow Rome? The fact that Jesus was leaving them before any of this had been accomplished baffled them.

Jesus comforted them with words that should comfort us as well. He is going to “his Father’s house.” He is talking about heaven. It is a real place and God is really there and Jesus is there with Him! We don’t have to worry that there won’t be room for us. It is being taken care of. All of our needs will be met on that glorious day when He comes back to get us.

When parents drop their kids off in nursery, the kids often cry and cling to mom and dad because they don’t understand why their parents are leaving them. So parents reassure them that they will come back to get them very soon and children who believe their parents often calm down quickly. They are able to run off and play without crippling anxiety because they trust that their parents are not abandoning them.

Friends, Jesus has left us but it is only temporary. We can trust that He left us for His purposes which are for our good. He is preparing a place in Heaven for us where we will get to live with Him for all eternity. He also left us with a promise—He is coming back to take us with Him. If we trust Him, it helps us get through our days without crippling anxiety because we know that He has not abandoned us. He’ll pick us up and take us Home soon!

Pray

Jesus, thank You for the comfort of these promises. The world can be a scary place and there are many cares in this life. But I take You at Your Word that You are preparing a place for me where I will dwell with You forever. Amen.

~ Pastor Nat Crawford