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Because Jesus lives, every tear shed on earth will only make heaven that much sweeter.
“Sorrows come to stretch out spaces in the heart for joy.” I read that in a poem by Edwin Markham recently. It’s true. Why do we have to face heartache? God is stretching out our hearts so that there’s more room for joy.
That’s how it worked for Jesus’ disciples. On the night before he died, Jesus gave his disciples this promise: “You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy” (John 16:20). “You will grieve.” Who likes to hear that? I bet the disciples didn’t! Yet their grief was leading to something: “But your grief will turn to joy.”
“You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy” (John 16:20).
God brings his greatest victories out of apparent defeat. When the disciples saw Jesus on Easter, their hearts were filled with a joy they never could have imagined. “He lives!” All the tears of Good Friday were real. They hurt. But what all that sadness did was stretch out more room in their hearts for Easter joy. “He lives!” Jesus’ resurrection filled them with a joy that no one and nothing could ever take away.
Jesus wants you to have that joy too. If your heart hurts today, like the disciples’ hearts hurt on Good Friday, know this: God is stretching it out. He’s making more room for the joy he’s planned for you. If your eyes are filled with tears today, know this: All those tears can do is sweeten the joy God has prepared for you. Sadness caused by death leads to greater joy in life. Sadness over sin leads to greater joy over God’s forgiveness. Easter proves that sorrows come to stretch out spaces in the heart for joy. “He lives!”
Because Jesus lives, death is not the end—for you or anyone who believes in Jesus. Because Jesus lives, every sorrow over sin is covered with Jesus’ forgiveness. Because Jesus lives, every tear shed on earth will only make heaven that much sweeter. Jesus says so! “You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.”
When you see Jesus’ empty tomb, you can trust that sorrows can only make more room in your heart for joy.
Author: Nathan Nass
Volume 111, Number 04
Issue: April 2024
