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. I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
John 16:20-22, 33
It’s been a hard past several weeks, with the feelings of many in our nation being captured in three words “I. Can’t. Breathe.” and understandably so, back to back reports of more deaths can easily lead to a profound sense of hopelessness. Each day seems to be met with a new challenge, something else we can’t bear to take. Each day rings out louder and louder with chants of “say their names” and if I’m honest, I’ve battled with this deeply. I’ve struggled to trace God’s hand, wrestled with how the sufferings of this world could be a part of his greater plan.
Then all of a sudden, I remembered, it was never supposed to be like this. We were initially created to live in paradise with God, the recipients of eternal bliss. God’s initial plan was to be in forever fellowship with us, in a garden free from sin, but that all changed when mankind decided to take their own lives into their hands. And unfortunately, we’ve continued to commit that same sin, trusting our plans more than God’s plans for us, bypassing the Creator for His creation.
It’s when I see the world rightly through this lens that I begin to understand, the present sufferings of the world are of no fault of God’s, the responsibility rests on man. So if that’s the case, what possible hope can we have or even give? Our hope lies in the truth of the gospel, that when you are in Christ, even if you die, you shall live. This world comes with a great deal of suffering that if not handled properly can lead to a great deal of grief. So now, instead of asking God to make all the pain go away, I’m now asking that He will use the pain to produce good in me.
Pain often causes us to push – out of our comfort zones and areas of expectations. Let us garner hope as we witness God use these hard times to catapult us into a greater purpose. Some people are discovering a voice they never knew they had, others are finding new sources of strength, others still are learning what it truly means to be advocates. Whatever this pain is producing, let good come out of it. So much that there will be no doubt in anyone’s mind that this time was not wasted.
Reflection question: What is the pain of today’s world producing through you in this season?