John 14 is called the Upper Room Discourse. By this time, Jesus’ public ministry had ended. He had been rejected by the nation of Israel, and He would soon be crucified. He had now entered a private session with His disciples, who were filled with sorrow and anxiety for a very good reason. Jesus had just announced that He was leaving them (see John 13:33-38; 16:6).

So Jesus said to His disciples, "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also" (vv. 1-3).

In the sentence "Let not your heart be troubled," the verb is a present passive imperative, meaning to stop an action already going on. He wasn’t saying, "Don't start worrying." He was saying, "You're already worried. You’re already freaking out. Stop it."

Put more succinctly: "Let not your heart be troubled" is a commandment. How you feel can't necessarily be controlled, but how you react to how you feel can be controlled. God would not give you a command unless He gave you the power to follow that command.

So in these verses we find a pathway to comfort: take control of your thoughts and remind yourself of God's promises. The apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 10, "[Bring] every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ" (v. 5). He also said, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Romans 12:2).

Jesus reinforced His comfort by telling His disciples He will return. There is nothing more comforting to those of us alive right now than the assurance that Jesus could come back for us at any moment.

When Paul spoke about the rapture of the church, he said, "The dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words" (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18).

Listen, every tomorrow has two handles: the handle of anxiety and the handle of faith. You'll grab one or the other. If you are always grabbing the handle of anxiety, you’ll freak out. If you're always grabbing the handle of faith, you’ll chill out. And because the Bible is one-fourth prophecy, that's a lot of handles to have faith for the future.

Now, in comforting the disciples, Jesus also described heaven to them. Heaven is a real place, not a figment of the imagination, wishful thinking, or something to use to get through this present life. It’s a real place.

Jesus also called heaven "My Father's house." When you're there, you'll be with your heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. You'll also be reunited with believers who have died before you (see 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). That’s a whole lot better than the picture of sitting on a cloud wearing a white robe and playing a harp. I'll be the first to say, "No, thank you" to that.

Think of it this way. There's a place in heaven, a space designed just for you. When Jesus was on Earth, he was a carpenter. Now, He's a custom builder, making something with you specifically in mind.

So, in the face of sorrow, confusion, and anxiety, let not your heart be troubled. And comfort your fellow believers with these promises.