02 Mar March 1st Weekly Devotional
“A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me, because I go to the Father.” John 16:16
Jesus has just told His disciples in chapter 15 that the world is going to hate them. He is telling us, that the world is going to hate us. It may not be in the same way the disciples in Jesus’ day were hated, but He said it was going to happen, and so it will. It may be as subtle as a jealousy when they notice the godly joy that children of God possess, no matter the life circumstance or struggle that comes their way.
Jesus will then tell His disciples that they are going to be rejected, even killed for His name’s sake, but He is going to send to them the Helper, and it is better that He go away, so that the Helper can come to them. Moving into chapter 16, He tells them that the Helper is going to remind them of everything that He has taught them, and that everything He, Jesus, has is going to be passed to His disciples.
Then He tells them that He is going away for a little while because He is going to the Father. He will later explain it to them in verses 26-28 that He came from the Father to the world, and is leaving the world to go back to the Father.
He tells us we are going to have sorrow, but it will turn into joy and relates it to a mother who is in sorrow with pain during childbirth, but once the child is born, the anguish is forgotten for the joy that a human being has been born into the world. Ch. 16:21
We all suffer. We are all going to suffer. Some more than others if we put degrees on our suffering. I know, and you know, people that are suffering with unimaginable disease and illness, however, if you are a child of God, then you have peace through this suffering, that is only found in Jesus Christ. People that are suffering from cancer, kidney disease, in constant pain, constant medication, constant doctor visits, treatments, debilitating mental diseases, poverty, hardship after hardship, but you might never know it, because through the sorrow, there’s joy. Not to mention the support we have through other Christian brethren going through, or that have gone through the same struggle.
There is joy for what is to come.
John 16:22, Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.
So, during a busy week, let’s share in this joy.
