Revelation of the Word:

THEME: MOURNING INTO DANCING

John 16:20-22 NIV

“Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. 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.”

INSIGHT

-Jesus illustrates through imagery that in the pains and bliss of motherhood, finds an analogy for the pains and bliss of the disciple’s persecution, inasmuch as, in both cases, pain leads directly to blessedness in which it is forgotten. He crowns His great promises by explaining to us what the deepest foundation of our truest gladness declaring, ‘I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy,’ What a promise that Jesus has declared the plan to take away all our momentary sadness and pain turn it into a swift and continual joy that has no end. Jesus calls us to trust and believe in Him and we will drink from His fountain of joy forevermore and dwell with Him eternally.

SUMMARY

God loves us so much and for this reason He sent His beloved Son Jesus Christ into the world that we might live through Him (1 John 4:9), as He turns all our mourning into dancing. King David in Psalms 30:11-12 released his emotions openly to God of his sorrows and frustrations. He contrasts sackcloth and clothes of gladness, mourning and weeping. He is a model of praising and dancing to the Lord despite his troubles. When the Ark of the Lord was being brought into the city of David, he danced and leaped before the Lord, and Michal his wife despised him in her heart (2 Samuel 6:12-16). God is doing a new thing during this season; we need to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit and keen to trust in Him regardless of our shortcomings. God promised the Israelites through the prophecy of Jeremiah that even though they are in chain and suffer in the hands of king Nebuchadnezzar, He will turn their mourning into dancing, sorrow into comfort. Even as Rachel wept for her children at Ramah and refused to be comforted, the Lord would turn her mourning into gladness and deliver them from the land of their enemies (Jeremiah 31:13-16). Some among us are living in torment and pain having lost a loved one, lost their property out of demolitions, floods, auctioneers, lost a job or golden opportunity, etc. This caused pain and suffering in the heart due general grief or sometimes due to unforgiveness. The Lord is calling us to submit to Him and rest in Him and He will give us rest for our souls. He is also beseeching us to cast our burdens and cares to Him for He cares for us. Further, to forgive all those who have caused us pain and sorrow for He is turning our mourning into dancing. Jesus is our Healer and heals all our diseases. In the story of the man who was born lame and was healed outside the temple gate that was called Beautiful, Jesus used His disciples John and Peter to perform this transformation miracle and the beggar was healed and his life was made beautiful. It was so evident that his mourning was turned into exultation as he jumped and danced all the way (Acts 3:1-10). Jesus makes our lives beautiful when we depend and pray to Him, even when we might have suffered for a long time. Jesus came for this purpose, to proclaim good news to the poor, bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives, release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion, to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair (Isaiah 61:1-3). Jesus endured a few hours pain during his persecution and crucifixion, and He has given us eternal life by His grace and mercy, and He is the centre of the deepest Joy and gladness forever and ever. Amen

PRAYER

Jesus we love You and exult Your holy name. You are our God who makes our lives beautiful. You turn our mourning into dancing. You turn every tear into joy. You turn every test into a testimony. There is no other God but You. Lord You have promised to make our lives beautiful forevermore, even as the grass withers and the flowers fall, Your word will never fail. You make everything beautiful at Your time, may You turn every delay into delightful pleasures, stagnation into celebration. May You fight all our battles and grant us victory. May You do a new thing in our lives, families, churches, children, ministry, marriages, businesses, jobs, society, nation and all the nations of the world. May we always testify of Your goodness. Oh God of all creation, bless this our land and nation, may justice be our shield and defender, may we dwell in unity, peace and liberty, may plenty be found within our borders. May You bless us and keep us. May You shine Your face towards us and be gracious unto us. May You show Your countenance unto us and give us peace. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us now and forevermore. Amen

Further reading: Ecclesiastes 3:11, Isaiah 43:18-19

Blessed Mashujaa Day

https://christ.co.ke