FEEL THE FUTURE
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Opening Prayer
As I read your Word, Father, teach me to live with greater faith. Show me how to follow you more closely and in new ways that bring you glory.
Read JOHN 16:16–24
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
The Disciples’ Grief Will Turn to Joy
16 Jesus went on to say, “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.”
17 At this, some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” 18 They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.”
19 Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, “Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me’? 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. 21 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. 22 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. 23 In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.
Reflect
‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.’1 Are there any ways you could love God more?
I’m grateful that the gospel writers saw fit to record the disciples’ repeated puzzled questions. It’s comforting, as there’s so much we ‘don’t understand’ ourselves (v. 18). Like them, we frequently find ourselves asking, ‘What does he mean?’ (see vv. 17, 18). We long for explanations. Inquirers and discipleship courses have been written trying to provide these.
Fascinatingly, though, Jesus here doesn’t meet the disciples’ bewilderment with rational explanations and thoughtful answers. Instead, he tells them how they are going to feel. He speaks not of where he is going and when, but of the grief they will have when he goes. Then, in alluding to his return, he doesn’t give any details, but instead focuses on the joy they will experience. He describes these dual feelings at some length, even illustrating the change using a story of childbirth.
If you have ever done training in change management, you’ll know that much of the task is to enable people to recognize how they are feeling about what they will be leaving behind and imagine themselves into the future. It seems as though this is what Jesus is doing. Data and solutions aren’t going to help the disciples cope with losing Jesus or give them a sure hope for a future they cannot see. It is much more helpful for them to be prepared to experience grief and to have a clear picture of the joy that will come when they see him again. Jesus says that then ‘you will no longer ask me anything’ (v. 23). This doesn’t imply that it’s wrong to ask questions—but rather that there will come a time when questions are no longer relevant or needed because God will be ‘all in all.’2 For us, that time is yet to come; and so, the questions remain.
Apply
Jesus says: ‘Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete’ (v. 24). What can you express to him that you need?
Closing prayer
Lord Jesus, when I am anxious, when I doubt, help me to trust you, the One who holds the future in your hands and provides everything I need for today, tomorrow, and forever.
1 Deut 6:5. 2 1 Cor 15:28.
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