The Best of the Portals of Prayer

Read: John 16:20-33 / Psalm 33

“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.”
John 16:22

Sorrow Turned into Joy

Our days are certainly full of sin and sorrow, temptation and tragedy. We suffer because of war and violence, abuse and deception, neglect and abandonment. Some of this has been brought upon us by our own actions; some things we suffer because of the actions of our neighbors, which we cannot control. We are restless. We know this life is not our true home. We, the baptized, are sojourners in this land, anxiously awaiting the time for us to go home. As God’s children, we long to be with our Father.
Our Lord knows this. He promises that our sorrow will end and we will rejoice. We will have an end to all our wants. We will be satisfied. On that day, we will no longer sorrow. Our hearts will rejoice. The joy we will have will not be taken from us.
Until then, we wait amid tribulation, yet in hope. For the Father sent His Son to die for us because He loves and wants us to live with Him. Christ knows our heartaches and hurts because He took them upon Himself. Our sorrows will come to an end. God loves us. He promised to take us to Himself in heaven, so we wait in faith.
Lord Jesus, thank You for promising to take us to Yourself in heaven and to turn our sorrow into joy. Amen.

May 31, 2009