So, with you, now is your time of grief, but I will see you again, and you will rejoice,
and no one will take away your joy."
John 16, 22.
The truth is, grief and joy can live in the same heart at the same time.
Jesus says so right there.
He doesn't rush the disciples past their sorrow or tell them to cheer up.
He names the grief, and then He tells them what's coming.
I want you to think about that.
No one will take away your joy.
Not a person, not a diagnosis, not a hard season, not the thing you're dreading on
your calendar.
Your joy is as secure as the one who gives it.
Maybe today you're standing in the grief park.
That's allowed.
Joy isn't a mood that you owe anyone, and it isn't proof of your faith.
It's a promise attached to seeing Jesus.
And that promise holds steady whether you feel it this morning or not.
He sees you in the waiting.
Today I want you to tell God honestly where you're grieving.
He can hold both at once.