One of the things I love about reading the Bible is finding the parallels between New Testament and Old Testament scripture, even, and especially, when it’s not just a NT author quoting the Old Testament, but when the two align even though the reference may not have been intentional.

In the case of John 14 and 1 Chronicles 17:25, the parallel wasn’t quoting OT scripture, but it is very likely that Jesus made the allusion purposefully.

When you take a look at it, it’s actually rather neat how similar the covenants are that the Lord made with Jesus’s death and resurrection and with David. Of course, this makes sense because from the covenant God made with David came Jesus, who was of the house and line of David.

But what I want to talk about specifically is God’s promise to David to build and establish a house for him as he prepared to lead Israel and glorify God in his life.

1 Chronicles 17:25-26 says, “Since You, my God, have revealed to your servant that You will build him a house, Your servant has found courage to pray in Your presence. Lord, You indeed are God, and You have promised this good thing to Your servant.”

To really get into the feel of what I’m trying to teach, put yourself in David’s position. David was 30 years old when he became king, when he became the ruler of an entire nation. Keep in mind that he was a shepherd for a decent portion of his life—that’s not quite adequate training to be a monarch. Ruling the kingdom of Israel, and especially turning it back from its idolatrous ways under its previous rulers, would have been quite the daunting task.

Even someone groomed to become the ruler of such a nation would have been stressed and afraid of taking on that task. But these verses indicate that the covenant the Lord made with David gave him courage to work through that? Why? Because he knew something great would come of it. He knew that the Lord was before him, preparing the way for success and peace.

This is incredibly important to our understanding of John 14.

Verses 1-6 say, “Your heart must not be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if not, I would have told you. I am going away to prepare a place for you. If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come back and receive you to Myself, so that where I am you may be also. You know the way where I am going. ‘Lord,’ Thomas said, ‘we don’t know where You’re going. How can we know the way?’ Jesus told him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’”

These verses are meant as encouragement. To the disciples, it was meant to give them peace about the days and weeks to come after Jesus’s death on the cross and the subsequent resurrection and return to Heaven.

But this is more than just timely encouragement for the disciples. This is meant to give us peace over the plan God has for our lives just as much as it was to give them peace about God’s plan for Jesus. It was meant to give us courage that, no matter what, we have a place prepared for us with the Father.

David was encouraged to go through all the trials of his kingship, all the wars and politics, all the idolatry of the Israelites, the troubles with the Ark of the Covenant, and anything that came up to oppose him because he knew that God would not let it fail.

Far too often, we Christians fail to fully understand that God does not fail. We’re afraid to tell the Gospel to a coworker because we might get fired. We’re scared to witness to a friend because he/she might refuse to speak to us afterwards. We don’t help the homeless guy who needs food because we’ll be late getting home, or we think he might go spend the food money on drugs. We don’t speak to the woman on the street who looks like she’s been down and depressed because we’re afraid of potential public outcry or that someone will perceive it the wrong way.

But why are we so scared? We know that God does not fail. We know that he always has our best interests at heart. We know that all things work together for the good of those who love Him. We know that this place is only temporary, that there is far better waiting for us. So, why are we scared?

But whatever you do, understand this: Jesus has a place prepared for all those who know Him. We should take heart and have peace in that statement. We should have the ultimate peace knowing that no matter what happens on this Earth, even if it is the worst torture imaginable, there is the ultimate peace and love waiting for us on the other side. Have courage because no one can take away that reward! No one can separate you from God’s love.

Go back to verse 1: “Your heart must not be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.” Don’t let any of the potential circumstances you could find yourself in stop you from reveling in the fact that your potential to do good is endless. Never stop relishing in your knowledge that to die is gain.

Yeah, even if things go wrong here and you’re killed for your faith, is that really that horrible? In some ways, no, it would not be good. We would hate to leave behind loved ones, but when you’re afraid of the small things like helping out a homeless person or showing love to a friend or even an enemy, keep in mind that to die is to gain all the benefits of being with Jesus. What’s a little fear in the perspective of eternity?