Another reading I wanted to share with you from Lysa Terkeurst’s book Forgiving What You Can’t Forget. This if from her chapter “They thought God would save them”
“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.” - John 16:20-22
He didn’t promise their grief would be taken away and replaced with joy. He promised the grief would turn into joy. The grief would produce the joy. The grief was part of the journey, but it would not be the way it would all end.
What they had prayed for was someone to free them from the oppression of the Roman government. They got a servant who washed their feet. They wanted a ruler; they got a teacher. They wanted a justice-seeking king; they got a kindhearted healer. Their answer never looked like they thought it would. They thought they were on a journey to Jesus taking the throne, but instead He took up His cross.
They thought God would save them.
And He did.
The disciples were absolutely grieved…until they were utterly amazed.
Just like Jesus said would happen, their sorrow turned to joy.
WHAT IF.
What if in the grief you are feeling now, what if our requests, though completely logical and reasonable, aren’t what we think they are? Yes, from an earthly perspective, they are exactly what makes sense. But what if God sees things we can’t possibly see? What if, from His perspective, what we are asking for is not at all what we’d want if we could see everything from His complete, eternal, perfect vantage point?
What if we’ve been thinking of this all wrong?
What if…