Do not let your hearts be troubled
John 14:1 - Whatever it is in your heart that is troubling you, your belief in Jesus is the best possible medicine.
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“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God ; believe also in me.”
John 14:1 NIV
Today’s verse comes from the Gospel of John, and these are the words of Jesus as He and the disciples celebrate their last Passover together — the Last Supper. The disciples have been intending intently to their rabbi, and are distressed by what they’re hearing. Jesus has just told them that He is going to leave them that very night, that one of them is a traitor, and that all of them will deny Him! Sure they’re going to be troubled!
Jesus never promised His disciples (including us) that we’d have a life without trouble. Instead, He promised His followers that we could have internal peace; an untroubled heart in the midst of a troubled world.
Jesus wasn’t just advising the disciples to calm down. The Koine Greek for “do not be troubled” — μὴ ταρασσέσθω (mē tarassō) — is more of a command than a simple comment. Strong’s concordance includes this definition of μή - “denies the thought of the thing”. It’s as if Jesus was saying “Don’t even think about being troubled!”
Charles Haddon Spurgeon said of this verse (quoted in an Enduring Word commentary):
Jesus didn’t say, “I’m happy you men are troubled and filled with doubts. You’re (sic) doubts are wonderful.” “He takes no delight in the doubt and disquietude of his people. When he saw that because of what he had said to them sorrow had filled the hearts of his apostles, he pleaded with them in great love, and besought them to be comforted.”
Precept Austin had this to say about John 14:1:
After the Last Supper, before He is arrested, Jesus assures His disciples, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me” (John 14:1). The information that He goes on to communicate, about heaven and about the Holy Spirit, is the antidote to the disturbing information that they have taken in.
When Jesus said, “Let not your hearts be troubled,” He was comforting His disciples, who definitely had troubled hearts. Jesus promises them that His death will not be the end, and Peter’s denial will not be the end for Peter, either. He explains that His death and subsequent ascension into heaven, rather than leaving them destitute, will bring about two specific blessings: it will enable Him to prepare a place for them, and it will allow Him to send the Holy Spirit to comfort them.
The next part of the verse is also a command: “You believe in God; believe also in me.” Jesus is about to tell the disciples about His ascension into heaven and the Holy Spirit, both of which should be comforting to the eleven men who are with Him in the upper room. He will be able to prepare a place in heaven for His disciples after His death, and He’ll also be able to send the Holy Spirit to comfort them.
This is one of the places in Scripture where Jesus tells His followers plainly that He is God, in case years of following the Lord in His ministry and watching Him perform miracles was not proof enough. As practicing Jews, the disciples believed in God. Here Jesus was making it clear that their belief must extend to Him as well.
GotQuestions.org has wonderful words based on John 14:1 for those who still have high-level anxiety about almost anything in their lives:
The admonition “do not let your hearts be troubled” was spoken specifically to the disciples in the face of Jesus’ impending death. Believers today are not in the same specific situation, but the admonition still applies. We should not let our hearts be troubled by anxiety or worry about Jesus’ care and plan for us.
When we face trouble, we may think that, if only Jesus were here with us, in person, standing beside us so that we could talk face to face, we could get through the trial. We are tempted to think that we could trust Him better if He were visible and in the flesh. When we begin to have these thoughts, we need to let our hearts be comforted by two key facts: Jesus has done everything that needs to be done for us to be welcomed into the Father’s house, so we are children of the King; and the Holy Spirit lives in us to help us, if we will yield ourselves to His leading. When we rest in the salvation that Jesus provided and rely on the Holy Spirit to help us navigate the dangerous world around us, we can keep from being troubled in our hearts.
Whatever it is in your heart that is troubling you, your belief in Jesus is the best possible medicine. The worst that can possibly happen to you is death in this life; for believers, that is the gateway to an eternity with the Lord!
Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:
Today’s prayer on John 14:1 comes from Knowing Jesus:
Loving Father, thank You for this wonderful word of comfort. Enable me, in the power of the Spirit, to hold fast to the truth of Your Word. I pray that You would endow me the wisdom, the words, and the grace, to pour forth Your comfort to others who are facing their own difficult trials. In Jesus' name I pray, AMEN.
Scripture quotations taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica US, Inc.®. Used by permission.
Precept Austin was accessed on September 4, 2025 for commentary on John 14:1
Commentary quotations from Enduring Word are used with the written permission of the author