Stress Test Devotional May 4
May 04, 2024
JOHN 16:19-22 | 19 Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Are you discussing among yourselves what I meant when I said, ‘A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’? 20 Very truly, I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice; you will have pain, but your pain will turn into joy. 21 When a woman is in labor, she has pain because her hour has come. But when her child is born, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy of having brought a human being into the world. 22 So you have pain now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.
Loss is a great teacher. When the people we cherish here pass on to live in God’s presence, we gain a new perspective on their lives. They become “present in their absence” by virtue of the hole left in our hearts and existence. We then see the unique elements they added to our families and communities. The lessons they taught and the values they embodied become more evident.
No loss was ever greater than the departure of Jesus, because no life was more impactful. What a joy for His disciples to discover His new presence through the Holy Spirit that made tangible His promise to be “with them always.”
What have you been taught by loss?
Do you feel the presence of Jesus?
