24 Series Devotionals - Day 59
The Five-Fold Function of the Holy Spirit (Cont.)
4. The Holy Spirit Gladdens Your Heart (Part 2)
Jesus said, "Your sorrow will be turned to joy." John 16:20 He will transform your sorrow into joy, but you will feel sorrow.
In the disciples' situation, He was leaving, and they would be filled with sorrow. Verse 6 is emphatic about that, in the active tense: Sorrow will fill you - almost as if sorrow is personified. But...He would send the Holy Spirit and transform the diciples' sorrow into joy.
In verse 21, he gives an example of how that happens. A woman giving birth is in travail. She has sorrow because the hour of birth is a painful time. It hurts! But the child who caused the pain becomes the source of joy! And so it is for the Christian: "God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28)
While that verse is among the most uplifting in the whole of God's word, at times it can be hard to see any good that will come out of what appears to be a terrible situation. A fatal illness, financial ruin, a child dying...the list could be long, but in God's timing, not ours, we may rest assured in the promise that the eventual outcome will be for good, although on occasion it might not even be in our lifetime on earth.
A member of our church was given the prognosis of an illness with no hope for recovery. Death would likely occur within a few months, and he was mentally and spiritually prepared to die. Years later, that person is not only alive but healthy, giving all the glory to God and proclaiming "It's the most wonderful thing that ever happened to me, because it brought me so much closer to the Lord. I had no choice but to put it in His hands, and that developed a trust in Him that exceeded anything I had ever experienced before."
The Holy Spirit Spirit gladdens our hearts with joy, reproducing Christ's character. Among the fruits of the Spirit are love and Joy. (Gal. 5:22-23.
Every Christian has experienced sorrow and ultimately joy. Consider those times in your own lives.