The Switch…

To Joy (part 15)

In John 16:20, Jesus echoes the title of this series, “The Switch to Joy,” in nearly the same words, when he tells his disciples, “You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.”

His disciples would grieve when he was gone, but he promised their grief would switch to joy. What was causing their grief, then, would become a source of joy. But how can grief switch to joy? How is that even possible?

Jesus explains how it’s possible in verse 21, in his analogy of a “woman giving birth” and the pain and anguish she goes through leading up to the birth. “But,” as Jesus continues, “when her baby is born her anguish gives way to joy because she’s brought a new baby into the world.” 

So the cause of her pain is the baby, but so now is the cause of her joy. What was causing her grief, then, had become a source of joy. And it was God who designed it to be this way. He designed the birth of a baby to be tough. But why? Jesus tells us why, that in our present existence as humans there is pain, anguish and grief, yes, but it’s only temporary, just like a woman’s labour pains. And there’s a wonderful purpose to it, unseen and invisible to our eyes at the time of our pain, and that purpose as God intended is joy.

A mother experiences that joy in glorious reality in the birth of her baby. From a sweating, gasping, purple faced, frantic wild person, where it seems like the world will explode if that baby isn’t born soon, a tremendous transformation occurs in the mother, an incredible switch to joy, pride, deep satisfaction and serenity when the baby is in her arms. And Jesus picks up on this amazing transformation in the mother to explain to his disciples that, yes, there will be grief and suffering in their lives, causing as much anguish and “wishing it was over and done with soon” that a mother feels in labour, but it also has joy built into it too. With God and his genius, he’s built them both in together. 

And isn’t that a joy in itself, knowing that whatever is causing us suffering and pain, tucked in with it is joy in waiting? And think how many times we go through this as Jesus’ disciples, when we’re at the end of our rope, but then a joy and peace beyond understanding on discovering that God made our rope a lot tougher and longer than we thought…(continues Monday)