“Lord,” Peter asked, “why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.”
Jesus replied, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly I tell you, a rooster will not crow until you have denied me three times. Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. (John 13:37-14:1)
The problem with chapter and verse numbers is that we sometimes disconnect related thoughts.
Why was Jesus telling his disciples not to let their hearts be troubled? Why was he telling them to trust him?
To reassure them of his faithfulness to them despite their faithlessness to him.
To let them know that though he would leave for a while, he was not abandoning them. He was definitely coming back for them.
Peter would utterly fail Jesus. But Jesus didn’t abandon him. He came chasing after him and restored him. (Mark 16:7, Luke 24:34, John 21)
But he did this not just for Peter. He did it for all of the disciples. (Luke 24:36-49)
It’s easy to get discouraged when we see how much we fail.
But Jesus doesn’t encourage us by saying, “Believe in yourself.”
He encourages us saying, “Believe in me. I will never abandon you no matter how badly or how often you fall.”
if we are faithless, he remains faithful,
for he cannot deny himself. (2 Timothy 2:13)
Moment to Moment (Bible blog) 