Until Our Grief Turns to Joy

Do you know God gives us three things until our grief turns to joy?

The human experience we call life is marked by sorrows, pain, troubles, losses, and grief. Even as believers who trust God and His unconditional love, we are not exempt from suffering and struggles. It is a sure thing that grief and sorrow will shake our hearts. We will lose precious things and people, and we will feel the sting of death when we lose loved ones.

Jesus states this plainly, but He also points to the one fact that changes everything: His presence with us and His victory over sin and death.

“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 16:33, NIV)

Until the glorious moment when our grief will turn into joy, God gives us 3 powerful gifts to help us in the waiting. Let’s explore them together in John, chapter 16.

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Until We See Our Loved Ones Again

One of the most devastating human experiences that directly plunges us into the dark waters of grief is losing a loved one.

When this happens, the Lord wants us to turn the eyes of our hearts from the temporal to the eternal. Before His departure from this world, faced with His imminent death, Jesus encouraged His disciples with these words:

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.” (John 16:16, NIV)

What does this mean for us and our losses?

Jesus shows us the grand picture and invites us to set our hearts there: on the eternal perspective. Compared to eternity, the time we live in is just “a little while.” Human life on this earth is just a microsecond compared to eternity. 

And when this “little while” is over, we will see our loved ones again and will be together forever with them in the presence of God, where there is no pain, grief, and sorrow.

But how do we get through the “little while” that often seems unbearable?

Until Our Grief Turns to Joy: 3 Gifts to Help Us in the Waiting

God has not left us alone to bridge the “little while”, the time of waiting until our grief turns to joy. He has provided us with 3 precious and powerful gifts to help us bridge the gap.

#1 The Gift of the Holy Spirit: Our Comforter

The first and most precious gift God gives us when we put our faith in Him, is the gift of the Holy Spirit. He is the third person in the Holy Trinity and our Comforter, Advocate, and the Spirit of Truth Who will comfort and guide us in all truth.

“But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.” (John 16:13, NIV)

With the Holy Spirit in us and with us, we have everything we need to navigate this life and its sorrows: comfort, help, encouragement, strength, guidance, and hope.

#2 Direct Access to the Father

The second gift is our direct access to our Heavenly Father, which we receive through the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

This means that we can ask and receive from the Father. He welcomes and hears all our prayers, petitions, longings, and needs, and it is His joy to provide for us. Our answered prayers, in their turn, are a source of joy and strength in the waiting.

“Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.” (John 16:23-24)

#3 The Peace and Victory of Jesus

The third of God’s precious gifts is the peace and victory of our Lord Jesus Christ. In Him we have peace. Only He can calm our anxious minds and hearts with His supernatural, transcendent peace.

We also have access to His victory over sin, death, and everything the world can hurl at us. Walking in His steps, sustained by Him, we can stand firm until the waiting is over.

“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 16:33, NIV)

Never Alone in the Waiting

The waiting period until our grief turns to joy can be long and exhausting.

But we are never alone. As Jesus was not alone during His earthly ministry, we also have the constant presence and the fellowship of the Holy Trinity, embraced by the eternal arms.

Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me. (John 16:32, NIV)

Also, like Jesus, we know where we are from and where we are going (John 16:28, NIV). We belong to God forever. This powerful truth enables us to endure everything and stand firm until we see God’s promises fulfilled.

In the Waiting, We Can Draw Near to God in Our Pain

If you want to learn more about how God used my losses, grief, and other painful experiences to transform and bless me, my book,“Draw Near: How Painful Experiences Become the Birthplace of Blessings,” is for you. Let me take you on a journey through 13 painful experiences, showing losses and the precious blessings in each of them.

More Encouragement for You

If you need more resources, encouragement, and comfort when you go through pain, grief, and despair, I can highly recommend these books. Check them out.

Trusting God in All the Things: 90 Devotions for Finding Peace in Your Every Day by Karen Ehman and Ruth Schwenk

Make Up Your Mind: Unlock Your Thoughts, Transform Your Life by Denise Dubois Pass and Michelle Nietert

Life Can Be Good Again by Lisa Appelo

It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way by Lisa Terkeurst

Hope When Life Unravels: Finding God When It Hurts by Adam Dooley

Restoration Year – a 365 Days Devotional by John Eldredge

All Things New by John Eldredge

Hope for the Hard Days by Sarah Geringer

Lean into Grace by Stacey Pardoe

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