Scripture:
John 12:20
Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.
Observation:
Jesus is preparing the disciples. He knows what is going to happen, but the disciples don’t know. There is not yet a death on the cross; there is not yet a resurrection. Jesus is telling them that surely you will weep, but soon you will rejoice.
Application:
In my life, during times of grief or mourning, I must remember that with faith in God I will eventually see joy return to my life. I must remember that dawn always follows darkness. How much darker can it get than when the perfect loving Jesus is tortured and nailed to a cross? Where is our faith then? Do I remember that Jesus will rise, “after a little while”? I don’t ever know how long my darkness lasts. Jesus only told the disciples, “in a little while”. His time and timing is not for us to understand or question. I do know that eventually there will be joy. I have to know this and believe this without question. Eventually Jesus rises and my ultimate price for my sins is paid for. Joy comes. So when I am beaten down and possibly tortured I have to have faith that eventually God will work it out to my joy and His glory. This world will not win. Even if my final triumph is death and resurrection, I will conquer this world just as Jesus did.
Prayer:
Father, I believe that your world will triumph. Just as Jesus overcame the world, I believe that I can too. I have to stay in your world and focused on You. When the going gets rough, I have to lean in more to you. It is only thru Jesus that I can overcome this world. Amen
– Don J