Sorrow to Joy

Jesus continues to love and shepherd His followers right up to the point of His death by crucifixion. He knows that, as He is killed, their hearts will be troubled, they will have sorrow, weeping, lament and anguish as they see Him die. Addressing this, He lets them know that they will see Him again on that first Easter morning, and their sorrow will turn to a joy which no one will ever be able to take from them.

We can live with this same hope!

We never saw Jesus in the flesh as the disciples did, but we have put our faith and trust in Him—unseen but believed in because of the testimony of the Bible, the evangelistic call of believers, and the convicting and drawing work of the Holy Spirit.

Living in a fallen world, we face opposition both from within and without. The world is hostile to Jesus, but so is our old flesh. This can cause both sorrow and doubt. But we are called to walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 4:16–18) to overcome the world.

Here Jesus reminds us that we, too, will see Him again, either at our death or at His appearing (1 Corinthians 13:12; Titus 2:13; 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18; 1 John 3:2).

Seeing Him again, face to face, is the blessed hope of every believer and not only helps us through our trials but helps us face death and the astounding promise that we’ll see Jesus again! This is a joy that no person can rob us of.

So, as we live our lives today, amidst the trials and ups and downs, let us keep remembering that the best is yet to come! This Blessed Hope carried the early church through their persecution and can help you as well!

Let’s begin today!