“Very truly, I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.” John 16:20 [NIV]
Consider your planning for a great trip. You’ve mapped out
your route. You’ve saved enough money to pay for it. You’ve even found a
wonderful house sitter or dog sitter. After your first day of driving to reach
this grand place of which you’ve dreamed, your car has a flat tire. When you go
to change the tire, the engine hisses. When you find a mechanic and get to his
garage, you learn your car needs a new radiator along with a new tire. One
thing after another hits you as you contemplate your plans and what you are going
to do. You did not plan on having difficulty and so didn’t save extra money.
Now, you must use the rest of the money you saved for your trip to pay for your
car repairs. Are your hopes dashed? Do you wonder what you should do, go home
or go onward to your destination? How can you ever have joy on this great adventure
you planned when it will cost you much more money than you saved? Life is like this.
God knew what would happen before you even began your journey. He had a plan
for you for that time.
The statement above by Jesus to His disciples in John 16:20
came after He began preparing them for what would happen to them when He
fulfilled His purpose on earth. Jesus told them in the first eleven verses of
John 16 that people would kill and persecute them thinking they were serving
God. He told them these people would do this because they do not know the
Father or Him. But, Jesus, because of His love for the disciples and their
devotion to Him, warned them about these future dire circumstances to prepare
them. After He told them He would go to the One who sent Him, He told them He recognized
their grief because of these things He said. Because the disciples believed in
Jesus as the Son of God, the Messiah, He said He would send an Advocate, His
Holy Spirit. Jesus sends this Advocate to each person who believes in Him.
Jesus recognized His disciples could not bear anymore
teaching about His last days on earth (His departure from them) and about their
future persecution and death by people who don’t believe in Him. He told them
the Spirit of truth would guide them in all truth. Jesus would not leave them
without a guide and teacher, One who teaches what He hears from the Father and
who will glorify Christ. This Spirit will tell the disciples what Jesus wants
them to know.
Jesus began teaching in John 16 by preparing the disciples.
He told them He would depart from them and return to the Father, and people would
persecute and kill them because they were His disciples. Yet, Jesus would send
an Advocate to teach them, the Spirit of truth Who comes from Him to guide them
in all truth. He returned to telling the disciples, they would not see Him and
then they would. The disciples questioned what Jesus meant. How can a person be
seen then not seen, except by death? Even their understanding of death meant
they would not see a person after he or she died. The disciples were confused.
Jesus recognized their confusion and sought to give them clarity.
The death Jesus spoke of was His own. At His death, the
non-believers would rejoice, while His disciples would mourn. Yet, from the day
Jesus rose from the grave, the disciples would rejoice, and the people of the
world would be confused. Some people would be angry and consult others in an
attempt to understand how this could happen. Jesus told the disciples they would
mourn for a little while then rejoice. They would understand that earthly
mourning was just for a season, but joy lasts forever because Jesus lives for
eternity. He conquered sin and death forever. Mourning and grief are a momentary
part of time while joy is eternal for the people who are Jesus’ followers.
For the disciples to understand this better, Jesus used the
analogy of a pregnant woman in labor. While the woman labored, her pain was great,
and she found it hard to experience joy because of the depth of the pain. Yet,
when she held the child in her arms, the joy of his/her birth would overshadow
the anguish and pain of labor. Just so, Jesus said, their mourning of His death
would be overshadowed by His resurrection, His victory over death forever.
Because Jesus conquered sin and death, the disciples could know joy exists
forever even when pain, anguish, and trials existed. Those times of pain,
anguish, and trial would last for a moment, but the joy of victory over sin and
death and the eternal hope it brings would last for eternity.
While the world rejoices at your difficulties and points
their fingers at how they bested the one who follows Jesus, you can know your
grief for the moment will turn to joy. You can have joy despite and in the
midst of whatever your circumstances may be. Though people may persecute you
and kill you, Christian, you have a joy that outlasts what humans can do to
you.
Let’s take that thought one step further. To love Jesus
means absolute (total) devotion to Him and His will. As we pray each day in our
time with Him, we ask Him to use us and to make us like Himself. Often this
thought comes habitually without really thinking about what the consequences
might mean. If we do not truly mean these things and do not seek Him and desire
to be completely devoted to Him, circumstances will surprise us. They never
surprise God. He knows our heart, our inmost being. (Psalm 139) When we pray
this prayer from habit, without depth of heart, we try to make ourselves like Jesus
as if Jesus is the pattern or example of supreme goodness. What we need to realize
is that we cannot make ourselves like Jesus. True followers of Jesus, believers
in Jesus as the Messiah, recognize He makes us into His image through His power
and by the guiding and teaching of the Holy Spirit. When we truly mean what we
pray, “Make me like You, into Your image for Your service,” we understand Jesus
is the One who makes us like Himself. Only when our prayer to be made like Him
comes from the depth of our devotion and faithfulness to Him can we preparedly
and joyfully face persecution trials, and death.
We cannot
make ourselves like Jesus by our power.
Only Jesus
can make us like Him by His power.
God is not surprised by the depth of humanity’s sinfulness
and rebellion against Him. He is not surprised people will persecute His followers
and kill them. Jesus told His disciples this in John 16. He told His disciples
and tells us today through the Bible and His Holy Spirit that we can have joy during
life’s hard times. Why? Because Jesus overwhelmingly conquered sin and death.
He lives forevermore. Humanity threw its best to defeat Him; they crucified Jesus.
Yet, God’s best is greater than humanity’s best. He has power over all things,
life and death. Because Jesus is victorious, we can be victorious and have joy while
walking with Jesus through difficult times. Imagine having joy while grieving,
and relief while being homeless or jobless. Imagine knowing without doubt
something greater exists than this life and nothing in your present moment will
have eternal significance. God is powerful, loving, and great. He is not surprised
by what happens. He is greater than anything that occurs in your life and in
the world. God loves you.
Consider what the psalmist said in Psalm 139 after stating
to what depths God knew him. He said in verses seven through twelve,
Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I go up to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, You are there. If I rise on the wings of dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to You; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to You. (Psalm 139:7-12 [NIV])
Whether we try to hide from God or evil tries to hide us
from God, God is greater. Even in those supposedly hidden places and in
darkness, God’s hand will guide you and support you. Nothing can separate you
from God. Paul spoke about this victory from evil for us in Romans 8:36-39. He
wrote,
Just as it is written “For Your sake we are being put to death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” But in all these things, we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. [NASB]
Hard times will come. People will hurt us. Some people may
kill Christians. We recognize these things are true. They are part of human history,
our present time, and humanity’s future, but we don’t have to linger and quiver
in our minds and lament. Because Jesus is our Lord and by His power, He changes
us and makes us more like Himself daily, we have hope beyond this current
difficult time. This moment will not last, but eternal life with God in His
kingdom will last forever. We are more than conquerors, more than victors, and
nothing can separate us from the love of God. Yes, pain will come and is with
us now, but we have an eternal, unquenchable joy found only through Jesus
Christ. For now, we may have grief, but we can hold onto the joy Jesus gives to
each of His followers. We will see Jesus; we believe right now and at the times
we face difficulties, always,
He is with us. Nothing and no one can take this joy from us.
Jesus
gives us eternal, unquenchable joy.
Consider that great adventure you planned, and the expensive
car repairs you didn’t plan for on the way to your destination. Will you allow
the difficulty to steal your joy about the adventure? Will you seek God and His
will, walking in the power He will give you for this situation? God has a plan.
That plan includes His love for you and your spiritual growth. What will you
do, focus on the problem or on God, who knows what is happening and has a plan
to walk with you through the difficulty? These problems are fleeting, but God
is eternal and your salvation through Him is eternal. Let the joy He gives you
be greater than the burden of the problems. One is eternal and the other
momentary.
Problems
are fleeting, but God and His salvation to you are eternal.
What grief or what difficulty has come upon you and is
causing you to lose sight of Jesus. Are you working through your difficulties with
just a human perspective? Keep your eyes and heart on Jesus. Keep looking at
Him. His joy, the joy He gives to you, is greater and longer lasting than your
grief and pain. Let your momentary difficulties bring glory to Jesus Christ. The
song writer, Helen Howarth, reminds us of this in her hymn called Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus.
O soul, are you weary
and troubled?
No light in the darkness
you see?
There’s light for a
look at the Savior,
And life more
abundant and free.
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful
face,
And the things of
earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory
and grace.
Let your
momentary difficulties bring glory to Jesus Christ.
Dear Father, so often
I get caught up in my troubles and I lose sight of you as I try to figure out
why the problem has happened and what I can do to get out of it. Lord, forgive
me for living in my own strength. Forgive me for losing perspective and seeing
life from an earthly standpoint. Forgive me for not seeking You, looking to
You, and allowing You to be the conqueror of my situation. Lord, truly, I am to
be made like You by Your power, not my own. I don’t want to make myself
in Your pattern, but for You to make me like You. Help me to grow, to be more
devoted to You, and to love You with my whole being. Help me to trust You completely
and have the joy You give because You are the Conqueror. This current difficulty
is a moment in time, but Your power and joy are eternal. Thank you for loving
me, for saving me, and for giving me hope and joy amidst pain, trials, and
death. Amen.
