Jesus Revealed Pt. 15 - Why Do They Hate Me?Намуна

Sorrow into Joy  

Thoughts on the Passage

Jesus is being careful here. He is not explaining what will happen to Him later that day. He is about to be captured, tried before judges, and executed on a cross. All the disciples are going to struggle and mourn greatly.

The World will rejoice.

This means that they will see the death of Jesus as just. They will see His claim as King and Messiah to be unfounded and worthy of death. They rejected His claim, they disregarded the teaching and miracles, they agreed with the enemies of Jesus and they killed Him.

The mourning will be turned into joy.

Jesus promises that the disciples’ sorrow will be turned into joy because Jesus will overcome death. 

Jesus is careful not to go into details, but He is clear that there will be a joyous outcome. Their joy will be unstoppable. The world cannot take that joy away again. Just like grace goes way past justice, so joy will overwhelm sorrow.

It reminds me of Psalm 30 and the promise of joy that God gave to David.  Sorrow for a night, but joy in the morning. He will turn mourning into dancing.

Application

In times of sorrow, ask God for a song. A song that declares the power of joy to overwhelm sadness and loss.

Be a person of faith. Joy is an act of faith. It declares that darkness can never overwhelm light, loss can never be greater than blessing, and that tomorrow is brighter than anything I face today. 

Time to Pray

Father, we all go through dark nights of the soul. Times when doubt, frustration, rejection, loss, and grief so fill our hearts that we cannot see any joy coming in the morning. Your word declares it is coming. Today, I am not struggling, but I meet people who struggle with these things. As they choose to be men and women of faith, fill their hearts with an expectation of joy – and then release great joy to them. When I face a difficult day, remind me of this as well. I want to be a man who declares that joy is coming after every dark night of the soul. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.