By Pastor Steve Nickodemus

Joy After Sorrow

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“I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.”
Jeremiah 31:13b New International Version

The message of Jesus is about God giving joy after sorrow and God turning mourning into gladness.  Believers are able to deal with the pain of sin and the reality of repentance because they know the sweet joy of forgiveness and the comfort of God’s mercy.

And believers in Jesus hold on tightly to the joy that comes with the resurrection even in the midst of death and grief.  Or as one old preacher said it, “It may be Friday, but Sunday’s coming!”

Jesus died upon the cross that your sins might be forgiven.  He suffered excruciating pain as He bore the sins of the world.  But He willingly went to that cross because He saw the “joy set before Him” of the resurrection and the salvation that His death and rising would bring.

It is important to grieve with those who grieve and to rejoice with those who rejoice.  And to do that at the appropriate times in people’s lives.  We are able to stand at the foot of the cross on Good Friday and to rejoice at the open tomb on Easter Sunday.  There are times when we need to simply sit with the parents who have lost a child and cry with them and there are times to remind those parents of the promise of eternal life in Jesus.

And in Jesus we find comfort in our sorrow and hope in our mourning.  We come as we are to Jesus… in our grief, in our sorrow, in our shame, in our pain, in our brokenness.  And Jesus meets us right there, right where it hurts, right where our guilt is, right where we cry.  And He comforts us and gives us joy that only comes in Him and His promises and Presence.

Thank you, Jesus.  Amen.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church Colorado Springs, Colorado