“Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy” (John 16:20-22).
As a dad, one of the most important things I want to teach my daughter as she grows up is the untouchable joy that is hers right here and now because of her Savior Jesus.
We live in a sin-darkened world. Painful and harsh realities of life teach us that from early on, and we’re reminded of that fact throughout our whole lives. We fall and get hurt. We experience sadness, loss, heartbreak, and sorrow. We bleed. We grieve.
But our God would have us know and focus on something else instead. Amid the pain and grief, despite those things, is joy. Untouchable. Unassailable. It’s a joy that is ours right now because of what our Savior Jesus has done for us.
Jesus lived a perfect life for us, for all our sins and all the times our response to suffering and sorrow is anything less than God-pleasing. He has forgiven all of our sins. He has washed them away with his own blood. All guilt and shame have been taken away—they’ve been nailed to the cross; they are not ours to bear any longer. He rose again from the dead so we would know that we will live forever in heaven with him, even if our journey through life here on earth must end in death.
Even more, Jesus ascended into heaven and rules all things for the good of his people. Before he left, he promised that he would return to take his people home. And we hold on to that unbreakable promise throughout life. Sometimes with tears streaming down our faces, but with a joy that cannot be taken away because it’s ours in Jesus. He is our joy.
Consider for a moment when Jesus told his disciples what was quoted in the verses above. It was on the night he was betrayed, the night before he would die on the cross.
Jesus’ disciples were going to grieve. They wouldn’t know what hit them, even though Jesus had warned them time and time again—their whole world would be turned upside down. But Jesus also promised something to see them through that time of grief. “I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.” After the grief-filled events of Good Friday, Easter Sunday came, and with it came joy.
That joy is ours too. Even amid the sorrows and troubles of life in the valley of the shadow of death, our risen Lord is with us, and he promises that one day we will see him face-to-face. We will rejoice, and no one and nothing will ever be able to take our joy away.
A life filled with joy is the present reality we live in, and it’s the sure and certain promise we look forward to in heaven forever, dear Christian.
Dive into Jesus’ comforting words and promises with These Words Are Written. These brief devotions cover the entire book of John and point you to your Savior Jesus.
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Alex Brown is the marketing and content copywriter at Northwestern Publishing House. He has his Master of Divinity degree from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary and enjoys reading, writing, and spending time in God’s creation.
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