Many of us all know the very catchy tune, ‘Hakuna Matata’, from a Disney movie titled “The Lion King” in 1994. Hakuna Matata is a phrase in Swahili, meaning ‘No worries.’ The song was about a ‘problem-free philosophy and ‘no worries lifestyle.’
But when Jesus told his disciples, ‘Do not be worried,’ he wasn’t singing that catchy song about “no worries” or “forget your troubles. He was speaking to men whose worlds were about to be turned upside down. They feared that their new lives with the Lord were coming to a permanent end.
So, given their circumstances, they had every reason to be anxious. When he said, “do not be worried and upset”, it was actually a profound spiritual instruction in the face of real struggle.
We always must stay hopeful and positive since our good Lord holds our future in His hands. However, we also have to be honest: life often presents us with challenges that are genuinely heavy. And there are things in our lives that deserve our careful attention and concern, and sometimes that concern feels like anxiety.
When God told Noah to build a massive ark to prepare a flood upcoming, he didn’t just start sawing wood the next day. And when God called Moses to lead millions of people into the wilderness, he didn’t set out the following month. They wrestled with those callings—thinking about them day and night, and perhaps even worrying about them for months, or even years, before they finally took action.
When we’re facing a major challenge or a new direction in life, it’s so natural to feel helpless and even lost. In those circumstances, ‘Hakuna Matata’ sentiment should not work for us. What we need is to sit with it for a while. We might need to spend days or months thinking it through hard before we finally act. The Christian journey was never promised to be a trouble-free life; rather, it is about how we navigate those challenges with our faith.
So then, what exactly did Jesus mean when he told his disciples, ‘Do not be worried’?
Now, I’d like us to put ourselves in that room with them. It wasn’t a calm or comfortable setting. This was the Last Supper. What do we usually mean when we talk about a ‘last meal’? For many, the phrase points to the final meal provided to a prisoner before an execution. It is a meal defined by an ending in this life.
In that same way, the disciples sat at that table with a heavy heart. They knew there would be no more meals with their Master. This was the final chapter of their life with the Lord as they knew it. The mood was incredibly tense and anxious.
Jesus had just told them he was leaving for good, and that their team leader, Peter, would soon deny him, and that one of them would sell him out for money. Jesus also told them he would be executed on a tree. Their world was literally falling apart.
He acknowledged their pain and fear, but he was also pointing them toward a truth that would be much bigger than their circumstances, the promise that was bigger than any problem they were facing at that moment.
Now, I want you to bring this story home to your own lives. How do you live this out when you face your own crises? If Jesus isn’t simply asking you to ‘be happy,’ what on earth is He actually calling you to do? The answer is found in Verse 1, and it’s a great news that still powerfully works in this 21’st century world. It reads: “Trust in God, and trust also in me.”
Friends, when facing the storm in your life, please don’t feel guilty for feeling worried. Jesus didn’t scold the disciples for their fear. Instead, He met them in it. It is okay to admit, “This is hard, and I am worried. I don’t know what to do.” But at the same time, please know this. In Hakuna Matata, the goal is to look away from the problem. But in today’s reading from John’s Gospel, Jesus tells you to shift your gaze. Jesus is calling you to look at Him.
When a serious decision or a painful loss weighs heavily on you, I invite you to practice what I call ‘Vertical Trust.’ Ask yourself: ‘I know this situation is beyond my control, but do I really trust the One who holds the future?’
After Jesus says that, he tells the disciples that He is going to the Father to prepare a place for them, so that they may be where He is. In response, Thomas asks one of the most universal and deeply human questions ever recorded: “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
Jesus replies with those famous words: “Thomas! I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
For now, I’d like to reflect on Thomas’ question for a moment. It isn’t just a “religious” question; it is the fundamental question that humanity has been asking for centuries, across every culture and creed.
We all want to know how to “get there.” We want to know how to find the truth, how to experience a life of real meaning. We want to know where all this life leads us. We want to know where our ultimate destination lies.
The whole world is searching for a map. From politics, the economy, and religions to entire civilizations, they are all searching for a set of directions to navigate the overwhelming complexities of their existence.
But Jesus’ declaration to Thomas—and to us—is revolutionary. He essentially says: “You don’t need to know. You don’t need a map. You don’t need to master the mechanics of every problem or have a GPS for every trial. You just need Me. I am the way, the truth and the life.”
He isn’t just talking about a destination in the afterlife. He is talking about the reality of our lives right now. Jesus is telling us that we don’t have to find the “way” because the Way has already found us.
The message of today’s passage is simple but profound: “Stay close to Christ”. Stick to Him no matter what. Follow Him regardless of what happens around you. Our good God is far greater than our current reality, and our Lord is infinitely bigger than our biggest problems.
Apostle Paul describes it this way: “I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Paul was perfectly right. Troubles cannot hold back what belongs to God. Even death cannot kill what never dies. We belong to Christ. We are God’s children.
This week, when worry knocks on your door, don’t try to sing “Hakuna Matata”. Instead, shift your gaze. Look at Him and say: “Lord, I am troubled. My family is troubled, but I choose to trust in You.” Do not be worried and upset. Trust in God, and place that same trust in Christ. That is your mission, and your good God will do the rest. Amen!
