John 16:16-21
16 A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father.
17 Then said some of his disciples among themselves, What is this that he saith unto us, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me: and, Because I go to the Father?
18 They said therefore, What is this that he saith, A little while? we cannot tell what he saith.
19 Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him, and said unto them, Do ye enquire among yourselves of that I said, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me?
20 Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.
21 A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.
Don't you know the disciples were having a really hard time understanding what Jesus was saying to them? They asked among themselves but Jesus knew what they were thinking. He even asked them why they were questioning among themselves. The passage "a little while" was used several times in this scripture. It could have meant the time between His death and resurrection. It could have referred to the time between His Ascension and His return in the second coming.
Regardless of which meaning it was, He follows with some very important words. Jesus says they (and we) will be sorrowful for a little while but then that sorrow will turn into joy. That is such a comforting thought.
We have all lost someone we love--a parent, grandparent, spouse, child, friend, aunt, uncle, etc. And we sorrow in those times!! Our hearts break and we weep and wail. We are angry, depressed, or any number of other emotions. We may even believe that we can never feel joy again. Jesus hears our cries of pain and despair. But He promised we will have joy again. We may never forget that feeling of loss, but God will give us His joy.
Jesus sees the big picture for us, just like He did for the disciples. He promised them they would again be joyful. He gives us that same promise. We, like the disciples, are anxiously awaiting the return of Jesus. That will be the greatest reunion we've ever had!! (I am looking forward to that day.) No pain, no death, no tears. No more grieving. Just eternal joy!!
As we go through the day, let us remember that even if we are sorrowful for a little while, that soon joy will return!!
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