Expect to feel bad.

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.

John 16:20

Any brand of Christian teaching that insists that God will only give us good times and prosperity for our happiness sinfully flies in the face of what Jesus Himself told His disciples to be ready to experience. Jesus taught them to expect sorrow. He told them they would weep and lament. And He warned them that the things that broke their hearts would be cause for celebration in the world.

Of course there is an immediate context to this warning. Jesus is sharing one last extended teaching time with His followers. They finished the “Last Supper” Passover. In a matter of minutes, Judas would come to betray Jesus. He would be put on trial and sentenced to death on a cross. The disciples should scatter into hiding, afraid the authorities were coming for them next. They would grieve at the loss of their Master. The world would rejoice. But three days later, at the resurrection, the tables would turn their sorrow to an amazed joy!

God would turn sorrow to joy. And that cycle of grief and loss, challenging and faithful waiting, and eventual joy at God’s work is one that repeated in Christian history. Believers should expect it even today. The sins, injustices, and pains that Christians grieve about right now are often celebrated wildly by our culture. We should not expect the world to mourn over sin and its devastation. That’s something only repentance brings. Christians must often weep and lament over things that people around us without Christ wildly and enthusiastically pursue.

But our weeping will turn to joy when we see Jesus. There is this wonderful promise in John 16:22 that allows us to keep perspective: “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.” Yes, Lord Jesus! AMEN!