Volume 1 · Week 13 — The Joy of Salvation
Day 90 — A Joy No One Can Take Away
Main verse
“[…] but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.”
— John 16:22 (excerpt) (KJV)
Meditation
Jesus speaks these words shortly before his arrest. The disciples will know fear, scattering, and the feeling of having lost everything. For a time, their joy will be engulfed by the events of the cross.
Jesus does not promise to spare them this pain. He compares it to the pains of childbirth: a real ordeal that nevertheless opens onto something new. “I will see you again,” he tells them. Their future joy will rest on his presence restored to them and on the victory of the resurrection.
Our human joys remain fragile. Bad news, a loss, or disappointment can quickly darken them. We should not reproach ourselves for this vulnerability. God created us capable of being touched by what happens to us.
But the joy of salvation has a root deeper than circumstances. It arises from Christ’s resurrection. Because he is alive, suffering, sin, and death no longer have the last word.
This joy does not make us unfeeling. The disciples wept before seeing Jesus again, and they still knew trials after his resurrection. Yet none of those trials could undo what they had discovered: the tomb was empty and the Lord remained with them.
Some circumstances may temporarily keep us from feeling joy. But they cannot destroy the reality on which it rests. Even when our hearts pass through grief, hope remains planted within them like a seed.
Jesus’ promise does not say that no one will make us suffer. It affirms that no power will finally be able to take from us the joy prepared by his victory.
Psalm
Psalm 30:5–12 (KJV)
5 For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. 6 And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved. 7 LORD, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong: thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled. 8 I cried to thee, O LORD; and unto the LORD I made supplication. 9 What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth? 10 Hear, O LORD, and have mercy upon me: LORD, be thou my helper. 11 Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness; 12 To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.
Further Bible reading
John 16:16–24; John 20:11–20; 1 Peter 1:3–9
Suggested hymn
The Church Hymnal (1941), no. 134 — “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today”
Prayer
Risen Lord, my emotions change with circumstances, and some trials darken my joy. Root my hope in your victory. When I cannot yet rejoice, keep alive within me the certainty that suffering and death will not have the last word. Amen.
A thought to keep
Circumstances may veil my joy, but they cannot destroy the resurrection on which it rests.
Personal Notes
What would you like to remember, pray about, or put into practice today?