JOHN 16:20

Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.

TO PONDER

Can you recall a difficult time in your life? 

It may have been a time when you experienced an illness, difficult challenges in a relationship, broken dreams, or the loss of someone close? How did it make you feel….angry, fearful, sad, grief, loss?  Did you have a sense of the presence of God with you or did you feel lost, alone, and afraid?

In our verse for today, Jesus is telling his disciples that difficult days will be ahead for them. Times when they will weep, mourn, and grieve. But, there will be times when their grief is transformed into joy. Jesus uses the image of a woman who after the birth of her child forgets the pain she endured and rejoices in the new life she holds in her arms! 

Jesus doesn’t promise us that our lives will be free from hardship, pain and sorrow or that following Him means that all will be a ‘breeze’ in life. Instead, He wants us to know that if our eyes and our hearts are focused on Him, then nothing, and no one, can take it away from us!

Live today and always in the joy that Jesus Christ gives you.

PRAYER

Lord, I hand over to You all the suffering in my life. My grief, hardships, sorrow and frustrations I place in Your hands. Give me hope in times of despair and trust when life is hard. Amen

Today's devotion written by Josi Weiss, LifeWay Epping