The Daily Devotional Podcast

Before It Gets Better - 1 | John 16:16–24

• Waypoint Church

Share episode

Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.

0:00 | 5:23

This reflection introduces the series by exploring how Jesus prepared His disciples for suffering they could not yet understand, assuring them that their grief would not be the end of the story. It reminds believers that while God’s timing often remains mysterious, His character is trustworthy, inviting us to place our confidence not in knowing the timeline but in the One who already sees the joy beyond our present circumstances.

The Daily Devotional Podcast

Created by Waypoint Church. Stay connected and grow in faith with us:


Connect on social media:

“May the Lord bless you and keep you — and may His presence guide you this week.”


SPEAKER_01

Today I'm reading John sixteen, verses sixteen through twenty four. In a little while you won't see me anymore, but a little while after that you'll see me again. Some of the disciples asked each other, What does he mean when he says in a little while you won't see me, but then you will see me, and I'm going to the Father? And what does he mean by a little while? We don't understand. Jesus realized they wanted to ask him about it, so he said, Are you asking yourselves what I meant? I said in a little while you won't see me, but after a little while you'll see me again. I tell you the truth, you will weep and you will mourn over what's going to happen to me, but the world will rejoice. You will grieve, but your grief will suddenly turn to wonderful joy. It'll be like a woman suffering the pains of labor. When her child is born, her anguish gives way to joy because she's brought a new baby into the world. So you have sorrow now, but I will see you again. Then you'll rejoice, and no one can rob you of that joy. At that time you won't need to ask me for anything. I tell you the truth. You will ask the Father directly, and he'll grant you your request because you use my name. You haven't done this before.

SPEAKER_00

Ask using my name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant joy.

SPEAKER_01

One of the things I think we may miss out on while reading the gospels is paying attention to the questions people ask Jesus. Sometimes they tell us just as much as his answers do. I think John sixteen is one of those passages. Jesus tells his disciples, A little while and you'll see me no longer, and again in a little while and you'll see me. It seems pretty straightforward, but it immediately sends the disciples into confusion. They ask each other what does he mean by a little while? Jesus tells them he's going away, and the timeline is what they got hung up on. It sort of feels like a good reminder that the disciples were not that different than we are today. We also get hung up on time. Waiting is difficult, but it becomes even more difficult when we don't know how long we're waiting. We can endure a lot if we know the end is in sight. When the timeline disappears, uncertainty has a way of filling in the gaps. That uncomfortable place is where the disciples find themselves. Jesus keeps telling them that something is about to happen, yet he never tells them when it will happen. They know enough to realize change is coming, but not enough to understand it. Reading this from the other side of the resurrection, we know exactly what Jesus means. He's preparing them for the cross. In only a few hours everything they thought they understood about him is going to come crashing down. Their hopes will seem shattered, their rabbi will be gone. The world, at least for a moment, will look like it's one. And the disciples don't know any of that. Instead, they're left trying to make sense of the words that won't become clear until they've actually lived through them. This experience is very much not unique to them. Looking back over my own life, some of the things God was doing only became obvious in hindsight. At the time they felt confusing, disappointing, or simply unfinished. It wasn't until much later that I could begin to see how he had been faithfully at work the whole time. Jesus doesn't remove the mystery for his disciples. He doesn't hand them a schedule of everything that's about to happen. What he does give them is a promise. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. He prepares them for sorrow without allowing sorrow to become the conclusion of the story. And this is where we begin the series. Not by pretending difficult seasons aren't difficult, not by trying to explain every hardship we experience, but by remembering that our God has never been surprised by the middle of a story. Before the disciples ever experienced the darkness of the cross, Jesus had already spoken about it. He knew where the road was leading, even when they couldn't imagine resurrection on the other side. Living out our faith is not about understanding God's timeline.

SPEAKER_00

It's about trusting the one who already sees the ending. Before I close in prayer, here's a question to wrestle with.

SPEAKER_01

Give me faith to believe that even when I cannot yet see what you're doing, you're already leading me toward the joy you've promised.