Embracing Joy Amidst Suffering: A Biblical Perspective

I hung up the phone I told Noel what he told me I went to the bedroom knelt down by the bed and wept for a long time and in my weeping in my weeping simultaneous not sequential I was rejoicing the weeping was owing to of course the overwhelming pain of sorrow and loss massive loss of of one whom I so so cherished the joy was thank you that I had such an amazing mom thank you that you gave her to me for 28 years thank you that evidently she didn't suffer very much thank you that she is in heaven and not in hell thank you for countless kindnesses she showed me growing up thank you that my father is still alive please save him thank you that I will see her again thank you Jesus for dying for us and covering her sin and my sin and his sin every sweet memory that tumbled to my mind made tears flow more and joy tastes sweeter so beyond any shadow of a doubt in my mind it is not double talk to say sorrowful yet always rejoicing sorrowful yet always in the very sorrow rejoicing that's not stupid that's not double talk that's simultaneous reality I've tasted it [00:88:15]

There are waves of sorrow and pain and loss that break big waves that break over the unshakable rock of Christian joy and these waves submerge the laughter in the surging and feel it the surging surf of weeping that wells up unbidden from your heart but they don't dislodge the rock and the waves recede in due time and the rock glistens again in the tearless sunlight now nobody should pay any attention anything I just said unless there's some good biblical basis for it experience doesn't settle things for us so let me test what I just described as my experience with some scriptures so Psalm 30 verse 5 says God's anger is but for a moment his favor is a is for a lifetime weeping may tarry for the night but joy comes with the morning [00:201:92]

Psalm 126 5 and 6 says those who sow in tears will reap with shouts of joy he who goes out weeping bearing the seed for sowing shall come home with shouts of joy bringing sheaves with him so clearly there is an experience of tears followed followed so sequence by shouts of joy and Matt wonders if there's a conflict between this and II Corinthians 6 10 which says we are sorrowful yet always rejoicing so tears followed by shouts of joy in psalms sequential and joy in always in sorrow in second Corinthians simultaneous so Matt wonders if the difference is because one is before Christ before the new covenant he asks and another comes after Christ after the work on the cross is that why there's a difference between the psalms and II Corinthians and the answer is no that's not why we know that because the same sequential reality that the psalms described is experienced in the new testament [00:279:60]

John 16 where Jesus says truly truly I say to you you will weep and lament you will be sorrowful but your sorrow will turn into joy so that's sequential because I die and then live again then he makes the comparison you're gonna have joy and but here's what he says when a woman is giving birth she has sorrow because her hour has come this is the analogy he's making but when she has delivered the baby she no longer remembers the anguish for joy that a human being has been born into the world so sorrow uh in the anguish of labor pains followed by joy now anguish is not owing to unbelief the anguish is owing to pain then the season of pain gives way to the baby in the arms and brings a season of tearless joy but even in the cries of labor pain there is what Paul calls the joy of hope [00:372:16]

He says in Romans 12 12 rejoice in hope and in Romans 5 2 he says rejoice in hope of the glory of God not only that but we rejoice in our sufferings so he he puts the two right together in verse 2 and verse 3 of Romans 5. we rejoice in our sufferings our labor pains you might say because all Christian suffering is like giving birth God makes it bring an eternal weight of glory he says in II Corinthians 4. so there is both sequential and simultaneous sorrow and joy Paul gives another example of sequential and simultaneous sorrow and joy when Christians had died in Thessalonica Paul wrote in first Thessalonians 4 13 we do not want you to be uninformed brothers about those who are asleep that is those who have died that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope so clearly they are grieving they are grieving over the loss of the loved one but the day will come when those tears no longer flow like that that's sequence there's the overwhelming grief and loss and weeping and and then the season comes where that's over but even now until that day of tearlessness the tears are not like those who have no hope [00:441:03]

I take that to mean that Paul said in Romans 5 2 we rejoice in hope the hope of glory does not contradict the tears that are flowing at the very same time of the joy of hope it doesn't even dry the tears not immediately but our joy is unshaken immovable by the tears the rock of joy is submerged in grief but it is not dislodged overthrown or removed here's one other passage that may give the key to how there can be both sequential and simultaneous experiences of of sorrow and joy John describes the age to come in Revelation 21 4 like this God will wipe away every tear from their eyes and death shall be no more neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore for the former things have passed away so here he says that there's sorrow joy sequence between this fallen age and that perfect age here joy I mean hear suffering and pain and their joy this is the age of tears and mourning and crying in that age all tears wiped away no more crying no more pain but notice tears are correlated with death God will wipe away every tear from their eyes and death shall be no more and crying is correlated with pain nor crying nor pain anymore [00:543:27]

I take this to mean that Christian tears and Christian crying are not owing to loss of hope nor owing to the dislodging of unshakable joy rather tears are owing to death and crying is owing to pain we cry because it hurts there's real pain in the world physical pain emotional pain and there's no stopping the tears right when they come they come you don't say oh I'm not supposed to you know have these no it hurts it hurts and hurting and joy are not opposites they're not contra they can exist at the same time that's what creates the sequential experience of sorrow and joy Christian joy doesn't mean we don't feel pain and when we feel it tears come we don't decide for them to come they just come and the psalmist is saying they will be wiped away and Paul is saying they may for a season submerge the shining face and laughter of the boulder of joy in Christ like surging waves do but they don't dislodge the rock of joy we are sorrowful yet always rejoicing [00:660:80]

Thank you Mary Lynn for your time today you are a gift to the ministry of DG we met in Seattle in March of this year as your city was closing down for the pandemic it was surreal it was memorable it was an unforgettable trip uh all made possible by your heroic efforts on the ground to coordinate some uh in-person DG events for us so I could teach on technology and it only happened because of you and your husband and uh DG's own Peter Hedstrom played a big role in that too so it ended up being a pretty amazing trip overall um so on the one hand you roll up your sleeves you physically serve DG in the Seattle region but you're also a ministry partner by financially supporting the ministry Mary Lynn talk to us about why why do you support Desiring God we truly love the ministry all of Desiring God's resources have been the quintessential for all seasons ministry to us and I would start by saying if I'm needing a spiritual or emotional pick-me-up it doesn't take long to scroll through and find an article that's going to redirect my thoughts and even my emotions toward Christ toward the gospel and eternal things in a way that refreshes my soul and I think I would say in a way that's so far removed from duty rather that really makes my returning and rest to a faithful savior a true delight and it has simultaneously met the needs of our whole family it's been a unifying force honestly we have a family group chat and every one of us five has at one time or another posted a DG article with a must-read written above it and it becomes a shared experience as a family a shared growth and when someone close to us has had questions we look it up on DG or if we've set up a weekly prayer time with friends we have chosen to listen to sometimes an hour sermon if we have the time sometimes just a quicker look at the book or an APJ we actually did look at the book for our small group weekly for a year and if we're driving in the car with a 15 or 20 minute drive time we can fit in a quick listen and honestly it just changes the whole day or maybe the conversation that we are having but invariably there's just the perfect thing and I can find something on point and priceless in about two and a half minutes [00:754:56]

You clearly make uh good use of DG resources uh I appreciate that and uh I mean that's one way a lot of people can that can help DG is just getting our resources into the hands of a lot of people in their lives who need them Mary Lynn what would you say to those uh who are listening right now to the podcast who are not donors to the ministry maybe they've been blessed by DG resources for years and now they're beginning to realize the expense of the ministry and are now starting to consider the part that they could play in helping us make and spread new resources around the world through a gift even a small recurring monthly gift to them Mary Lynn what would you say I would say one of the greatest blessings you can give yourself is to support Desiring God ministries I call it the best kept secret the ministry that for years it never occurred to me how my financial input was needed for them to flourish and add to their resources and yet I was being given riches from their work almost daily and now the more genuinely godly people at Desiring God I get to know and love and the more I hear about their outreach around the world the more of a joyful privilege it is to give abundantly thank you Mary Lynn for everything you do for the ministry it's a lot and uh if you would like to join Mary Lennon and join us so that we can make more DG resources and spread them around the globe you can join us right now go to desiringgod.org forward slash donate that's desiringgod.org forward slash donate we appreciate it I'm Tony Ranki we'll see you on Monday [00:887:44]