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John 16: 19-22
"19 Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’? 20 Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. 21 When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. 22 So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you."
Sometimes suffering and sorrow are inevitable. They are inevitable because they are part of the process to bring out joy. To illustrate this, our Lord used the beautiful figure of childbirth. A woman has to go through painful child labor to deliver her bundle of joy. Jesus himself had to experience pain, suffering, and death on the cross to bring forth salvation. The disciples were concerned about “how long” that “little while” of separation from Jesus” was, and “why”. But when Jesus answers the troubled disciples, instead of addressing the time, His answer focuses on the process and the result that is certain to follow. The process was “you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful.”. (v20) He would not spare them from anguish and lament, because it is true that the Lord they followed had to die and be away from them. But the result that would certainly follow was that - “but your sorrow will turn into joy”(v20) and “I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.” (v22). God’s will is not to replace our sorrow with joy, but to turn sorrow into joy. Jesus saw the cross He had to face, but He also saw the empty tomb and His victory to come. And all of these would happen in just “a little while”.
When we face trials in life, we too would question “how long will this last?” That “little while” may seem forever if our focus is on that unresolved problem, broken relationship, sickness we are going through, or on the loss that we are experiencing. But if we trust the Lord, we can trust that all of these things He allowed to happen are like labor pains during childbirth. They are extremely painful but they don’t last forever. They also come with the hope of joy that no one can take away. That is the hope we have in Jesus - We will see Him again, and our hearts will rejoice! He is the one who died, but in a little while, He rose from the dead with victory, and He is living forever. This is an unshakable truth! With His resurrected power, He raises triumph out of defeat and joy out of sorrow. With the living Lord in our life, weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning. (Psalm 30:5).
Dear Lord, thank you for allowing me to go through the process of sorrow which will only last a little while, but giving me the promise of unspoken joy that will last for a long time! Praise you for your resurrected power! Help me trust your time, power, and love when facing trials in my life.
Chinese Translation:
中文翻譯：
約翰福音 16:19-22
“耶 穌 看 出 他 們 要 問 他 ， 就 說 ： 我 說 等 不 多 時 ， 你 們 就 不 得 見 我 ； 再 等 不 多 時 ， 你 們 還 要 見 我 ， 你 們 為 這 話 彼 此 相 問 麼 ？20 我 實 實 在 在 的 告 訴 你 們 ， 你 們 將 要 痛 哭 、 哀 號 ， 世 人 倒 要 喜 樂 ； 你 們 將 要 憂 愁 ， 然 而 你 們 的 憂 愁 要 變 為 喜 樂 。21 婦 人 生 產 的 時 候 就 憂 愁 ， 因 為 他 的 時 候 到 了 ； 既 生 了 孩 子 ， 就 不 再 記 念 那 苦 楚 ， 因 為 歡 喜 世 上 生 了 一 個 人 。22 你 們 現 在 也 是 憂 愁 ， 但 我 要 再 見 你 們 ， 你 們 的 心 就 喜 樂 了 ； 這 喜 樂 也 沒 有 人 能 奪 去 。“
有時苦難是不可避免的， 因為它們是帶來喜樂的過程的一部分。為了說明這一點，我們的主用了分娩的婦人作了一個美麗的例子。婦人必須經歷痛苦的分娩過程，才能把可愛的和使人歡樂的嬰孩帶到世上。主耶穌自己也必須經歷十字架的痛苦和死亡才能帶來救恩。門徒們不明白與主耶穌分離的“不多時”究竟是多久，以及是什麼意思。但是，當耶穌回答疑惑的門徒時，他沒有回答時間的問題，而是專注於必然要遵循的過程和結果。過程是“ 你 們 將 要 痛 哭 、 哀 號 ， 世 人 倒 要 喜 樂 ； 你 們 將 要 憂 愁。” （v20）他不會免除他們的痛苦和悲哀，因為事實是他們所跟隨的主必須要受死並且與他們分離。但是肯定的結果是：“然 而 你 們 的 憂 愁 要 變 為 喜 樂”（v20）和“但 我 要 再 見 你 們 ， 你 們 的 心 就 喜 樂 了 ； 這 喜 樂 也 沒 有 人 能 奪 去”。 （v22）。神的旨意不是用喜樂代替我們的悲傷，而是將悲傷變成喜樂。主耶穌看見祂必須要面對的十字架，但祂更看到空的墳墓和勝利。所有這些都將在“等 不 多 時”發生。
當我們面對生活的艱難和考驗時，我們也會想“這種情況還要持續多久？”如果我們的注意力只集中在我們的難處上，無論是未能解決的問題，破裂的關系，持久的病痛，失去的摯愛，對我們來說那“等 不 多 時”可能是永遠。但是，如果我們相信主，我們就可以相信，祂所允許發生的這些事情都像是分娩時的痛苦。生產的痛是非常痛苦，但不會持續到永遠, 並且這痛苦是帶著一個喜樂的盼望。主給門徒的盼望就是主要再見我們！ 我們的心就喜樂了！這 喜 樂 也 沒 有 人 能 奪 去。 我們的盼望是從那死而復活的主而來！祂得勝了死亡，祂要永遠活著。這是一個不可動搖的真理！ 憑藉他復活的大能，祂能使軟弱的變剛強，能使人從憂愁中得喜樂。有了活著的主在我們的生命中，一 宿 雖 然 有 哭 泣 ， 早 晨 便 必 歡 呼 。 （詩篇30：5）。
8 окт 2024
