Lean into Jesus

Intro

Most of us don’t wake up because we’re excited about the day. We wake up because an alarm clock forces us to.

It goes off too early.

You hit snooze—once, twice, maybe three times.

And eventually you roll out of bed, not because you want to, but because you have to.

Then it’s the same cycle:

Same commute

Same classes or same job

Same conversations

Same bills

Same messes to clean up

Same problems that didn’t magically fix themselves overnight

And if we’re honest, a lot of life feels less like a highlight reel and more like a loop.

That’s what drudgery is.

It’s not tragedy.

It’s not crisis.

It’s the exhausting ordinary.

Now here’s the scary part:

If this world is all there is—

If earth is the final destination—

Then the alarm clock wins.

Because without Heaven, all we’re really doing is waking up, working hard, getting tired, and repeating the process until we don’t wake up anymore.

No ultimate justice.

No lasting meaning.

No real hope that the grind is going somewhere.

But Scripture doesn’t pretend life isn’t repetitive.

It just insists that it’s not pointless.

The question isn’t why life feels heavy sometimes.

The question is:

What are we living toward?

Because when Heaven is removed from the picture, the mundane becomes unbearable. But when Heaven is real… even the mundane starts to matter.

The Same thing is true when we move from the mundane to the Miserable.

You wake up with a headache,

the don’t wanna go to school,

your teachers are grumpy,

your lunch tastes bad,

practice takes forever,

your friends are mad at you,

and bedtime can’t come soon enough.

For Adults, it’s the same thing, but with a little different spin.

You wake up with a headache,

the car doesn’t start,

your boss is grumpy,

your lunch is cold,

traffic is bad,

the kids are out of control,

and bedtime can’t come soon enough.

While life brings unique situations for all people, Everyone has some type of cycle that can bring us down.

When we fall into the rut of accepting the hopelessness of the world, we can that Cynicism.

Context

When some hurting people look at Christians, they see people who are fake. They see people who have they believe have an optimism that isn’t realistic, and that they are living in a world that doesn’t exist.

and as I step back and try to look at the world from their lense, i get why they feel that way.

Their experience has shown them that:

“it’s the strong that survive”

“Same mess, different day.”

“Happily ever after is for movies.”

you should never “ get your hopes up.”

“Everyone’s in it for themselves.”

and they’ll say things like

“I’m just being realistic.”

And while we feel that this is reality, we also ironically think that noone understands what we’re going through. Like we’re the only person in history who has dealt with the issues we’re facing.

Well, i’m sorry to burst your bubble, but That simply isn’t the case.

When we get to our Passage in John 14. We have seen alot of the same things we deal with every day.

We’ve seen:

People doubt Jesus’ Honesty

John 10:24 ESV

24 So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”

People feeling like they’d been abandoned by Jesus

John 11:21 ESV

21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.

People believed that it was too late for Jesus to make a difference

John 11:39 ESV

39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.”

We do this when we believe that it’s too late for other’s to be redeemed, and even for us to redeemed

People believe that there is sometimes a “Necessary Evil”

John 11:49–50 ESV

49 But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. 50 Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.”

While Jesus would die for us, Caiphas was thinking about Jesus’ death to “keep the peace”. because he was causing to much of a stir.

The Idea of Necessary evil is nowhere in the Bible.

Just like in 2026, The people of Jesus’ day were cynical. And had no hope beyond what they could see or understand.

Jesus has been setting the stage for our passage by physicaly displaying that their is a greater Hope than what we can sometimes see.

He responded to the cynicism of the world directly:

When they doubted that He was the Christ, He said:

John 10:14 ESV

14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,

John 11:25 ESV

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,

When thought that He’d abandoned them when their brother died:

John 11:35 ESV

35 Jesus wept.

because he was emotionally invested with his people, and He hurt when they hurt.

Then He showed that it’s never to late to be redeemed. It’s never to late to find Hope in Jesus. Because He has power of everything, even death itself.

When it seemed to late Jesus did two things:

He Prayed and He Trusted God.

John 11:40–44 ESV

40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” 41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” 43 When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” 44 The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

When we feel like the world is trying to steal your Joy. When plans change, and you weren’t asked for input. When uncontrollable things happen that break your heart.

Hear the word’s of Jesus, and feel the warmth of His arms around us. especially when life is hard.

Lean into Jesus when times are Hard

John 14:1 ESV

1 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.

His words bring us comfort and safety.

He’s telling us that when we trust Him, we have all of God’s attention.

Think about it like the military

We have the Medic’s there to Heal us. Jesus

The Infantry to Guide us out of the trouble. The Holy Spirit.

and we have Air Support the protect us. God the Father

Knowing that we have God on our side should give us comfort and confidence. Especially when things feel like they’re falling apart.

He is there!

So Jesus provides Comfort when times are Hard. but that’s not all. We should also:

Lean into Jesus for the Satisfaction you can’t find

John 14:2 ESV

2 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?

The House that Jesus is referring to is Heaven.

Everybody likes the Idea of Heaven, but many write it off as a “fairly tale for the Fool”.

Here, Jesus wants his followers to know that Heaven is real, and that it’s waiting for them!

Sometimes the idea of Heaven can seem distant or impersonal, so Jesus makes in personal by calling it His “Father’s house.”

and He tells us that there is plenty of space for anyone who wants to come!

Anyone familiar with Narnia?

It’s a big deal in our house!

Well the writer of those books, C.S. Lewis said this about Heaven, and it’s so good, so don’t miss it!

Exalting Jesus in John Jesus Gives His Disciples Confidence: Here’s Why You Can Trust Me! (John 14:2–3)

Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for those desires exists. A baby feels hunger: well, there is such a thing as food. A duckling wants to swim: well, there is such a thing as water… If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world. If none of my earthly pleasures satisfy it, that does not prove that the universe is a fraud. Probably earthly pleasures were never meant to satisfy it, but only to arouse it, to suggest the real thing.

What he’s pointing out is that we all have a desire for something that we can’t seem to satisfy. No matter how hard we try. No Matter how good we get at our sport or hobby, we always want to get better. No matter how much money we make, we always want more, no matter the goal we achieve we always set new ones.

The Non-christian would say this is evidence that there is no real purpose in this Life. That because we can’t find satisfaction that it doesn’t exist.

But the Bible shows us that the Satisfaction that you, me, everyone is searching for is only found in something that isn’t from this world.

That the only way to ever be full and satisfied is to Follow Jesus and have a room in the “Father’s House” one day.

and that brings us to the last way that our text tells us to lean into Jesus. We:

Lean into Jesus when worried about the Future

John 14:3 ESV

3 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.

I know that some of you have had a time in your life when you trusted someone and that backfired.

You trusted someone with your Heart, and they broke it.

You trusted someone with your secrets, and they didn’t keep them.

You trusted someone to be there, and they abandoned you.

And because of the hurt that you’ve experienced in your life, it’s really hard to trust without hesitation.

I get that.

I have been let down: by those who were my safe place

I have been lied to: by those who i never imagined would

I have been hurt: by the one’s that i was sure would always have my back

and that causes trust issues.

Vs. 3. is Jewsus recognizing that we all have trust issues.

The disciples were afraid that Jesus was going to leave and they would be on their own.

Afraid that someone else was going to let them down, and all of the time would be for nothing.

but Jesus wanted them, and wants you to know, that He is coming back to get His people.

That He hasn’t left us,

He’s preparing for us.

He’s working to make sure that our needs are provided for.

Closing

So maybe the world really is exhausting.

Maybe the alarm clock does keep going off.

Maybe the grind doesn’t magically disappear when you follow Jesus.

But hear this clearly: the grind is not the end of the story.

In John 10–13, Jesus doesn’t deny the pain, the doubt, or the cynicism—we’ve seen all of it in this room and in this world.

Instead,

He steps into it.

He weeps with the hurting.

He stays when it’s uncomfortable.

He serves when He could have walked away.

He speaks hope when everyone else says it’s too late.

And then in John 14, He looks at troubled hearts like ours and says, 

“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Believe in Me.”

Not because life is easy.

Not because the world suddenly makes sense.

But because there is a Shepherd who knows you, a Savior who hasn’t abandoned you, and a future that is being prepared for you right now.

So:

when cynicism creeps in…

When hope feels fragile…

When life feels like a loop instead of a purpose…

Lean into Jesus.

Because hope isn’t found in pretending life isn’t hard.

Hope is found in trusting the One who has already walked through death—and came back to get us.