John 16:33 (TLB) “I have told you all this so that you will have peace of heart and mind. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows; but cheer up, for I have overcome the world.”
Jesus was completely transparent and up front to His Followers. He gave full disclosure that “here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows”. As usual the Goodness of God through His Son – Jesus sandwiched this warning between two promises: 1) I have told you all this so that you will have peace of heart and mind; and 2) Cheer up, for I have overcome the world. All this right before he was betrayed, arrested, tortured and murdered right before their eyes. I cannot imagine the confusion and perplexity that rocked the community. I am sure some who believed the teachings of Jesus suddenly questioned all that they knew of him. How could this be the King of Kings? Surely he must not be the Lord of Lords – the Messiah! Yet in just three short days following his death and burial, His Resurrection would turn their mourning to joy and evoke praise from their heaviness just as prophesied before His Arrival.
Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows…
There is no plot twist here. Trials are purposeful. Sorrow has a place in our life. Both have the propensity to propel us closer to God and to remove the sin and shame keeping us from boldly entering His Presence. The orphan spirit hinders men and women who God has chosen yet live on the outside rather than fully embracing their family rights. Why? Because when a Good God allows trials to come and sorrows to settle then it is God who is called into question rather than our own inability to believe. We must know God on His Perfect Level to truly embrace the fiery trials that refine our faith and even the sorrows that break our heart. They are for purpose and on purpose, friend.
2 Corinthians 7:10 (TLB) For God sometimes uses sorrow in our lives to help us turn away from sin and seek eternal life. We should never regret his sending it. But the sorrow of the man who is not a Christian is not the sorrow of true repentance and does not prevent eternal death.
Salvation requires true repentance. God uses sorrow in our life to help us turn from sin and seek eternal life. No better explanation could be set forth. Sin produced sorrow. God is using it for our good and His Glory just as He promises with every detail of our life. (Romans 8:28) Paul asked the Lord to remove the thorn in his flesh three times. God’s Answer – my Grace is sufficient for you and my Power works best in your weakness. God didn’t put out the fire for the three Hebrew boys but rather Jesus entered the fire with them. The process necessary for true repentance is often born of great sorrow. When our need for God overtakes our humanness and it is clear that we are completely dependent on the Lord for deliverance.
Paul wrote a letter to the Corinthians. I Corinthians is a strong and clear rebuke of their behavior. 2 Corinthians is his response to their reaction which was not good. It is in this passage (2 Corinthians 7:10) that the need for sorrow is revealed. God uses it to help us turn away (repent) from sin and seek Him. Plain and simple. Without sorrow, loss, disappointment, affliction, grief, sadness, regret or misfortune – who would ever think they need God. Self-reliance and self-dependence would make us our own gods. It is sorrow that leads us to Jesus and our need for an overcomer.
Thank you God for sorrow. It is good to have sorrow in our life if He is what we want more than anything. You can hate the situation that you are going through but embrace the sorrow as it turns your heart, mind, body and soul back to the Lord.
James 4:8-10 (TLB) And when you draw close to God, God will draw close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and let your hearts be filled with God alone to make them pure and true to him. Let there be tears for the wrong things you have done. Let there be sorrow and sincere grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. Then when you realize your worthlessness before the Lord, he will lift you up, encourage and help you.
Sorrow has an end. The end of self and dependence on God through His Son – Jesus will great an opportunity for a great exchange. The Holy Spirit is sorrowed by our sin. (Ephesians 4:30) True repentance that moves from sin to seek the Glory of God will secure our relationship with God’s Spirit who is the One who marks us as His Children. We need the Holy Spirit. Sin sorrows Him. We must turn from sin to fully embrace our new life in Christ. Day by day. Moment by moment. Sorrow by sorrow.
Isaiah 61:1-3 (TLB) The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the suffering and afflicted. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted, to announce liberty to captives, and to open the eyes of the blind. He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of God’s favor to them has come, and the day of his wrath to their enemies. To all who mourn in Israel he will give: beauty for ashes; joy instead of mourning; praise instead of heaviness. For God has planted them like strong and graceful oaks for his own glory.
Good sorrow produces the great exchange. This is good news for the suffering and afflicted. He is here to comfort the brokenhearted not those who have it all together. He is here to announce liberty to the captives even those caught only in the strongholds of the mind. He will open your eyes to see His Glory. The day of God’s Favor is not forsaken. He has mercifully, patiently and lovingly waited for Your Return holding each and every promise intact. His wrath is for your enemies not for you – Child of the Living God. Now that good sorrow has produced true repentance – you will exchange your mourning for inexpressible joy. You will give up the weight of heaviness for persistent praise. He will take the ashes from all those fiery trials to make the beautiful masterpiece that He promises. Faith in God will now plant you by the streams of living water and you will flourish in every season. You will be a strong and graceful oak for His Own Glory!
Pure Devotion 