Joy Victorious Over Grief – May 26, 2022

[Jesus said] “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

Joy Victorious Over Grief

“You will grieve,” Jesus promised, “but your grief will turn to joy.”

Notice what he didn’t say. He didn’t say, “Your grief will be replaced by joy,” or “Your grief will be destroyed by joy,” or “Your grief will be swallowed up by joy.” He said, “Your grief will turn to joy.” In other words, the same thing that causes your grief will produce your joy. That might sound a bit strange. But this is what Easter is.

Easter turns a sad, seemingly hopeless situation into joy. It turns the ugly cross from which the disciples ran away into the focal point of the beautiful gospel they went into the world to proclaim. It turns the grave we spend so much effort to avoid into the red carpet leading us into the perfection of heaven. It turns Satan’s greatest win into ours. It turns the sad tears we cry when someone we love dies into tears of joy over their new and eternal paradise. It even turns those who are undeniably weak in so many ways into a source of seemingly impossible strength.

Nothing is impossible for our God. Nothing gets the best of him. Not one of his enemies will ever be able to boast that they were more powerful than him. Indeed, as the Bible says, “all things God works for the good of those who love him” (Romans 8:28).

Even those things that cause our grief.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, keep me firmly rooted in my eternal victory won by you so that I live with an ongoing expectation of the joy you have promised. Amen.