Head: Know God's Word | Heart: Love God | Hands: Follow God's Way 

Read John 16:16-33

Head 

Today’s Bible passage takes us to John 16:16-33. Jesus is telling His disciples that soon they will be without Him, and they will mourn and be very sad over His death. But He tells them that very soon they will see Him again and joy will return! That is a reason to celebrate! This was confusing to the disciples because they didn’t know this was all part of God’s plan to rescue us.  Jesus came to earth as a human, died for our sins, and then God raised Him from the dead. We are promised that Jesus will return to defeat the evil one once and for all! This was the Good News that Jesus wanted his disciples to tell everyone.  There will be no reason for hopelessness or fear because Jesus is our Rescue Plan!  Knowing He has done the hard part of this plan should bring us joy to know we are loved and cared for by God and that He had a plan to rescue us from our sins if we choose to follow Him.  

Heart 

In this passage Jesus wants us to trade sadness and hopelessness for joy!  Why? Joy is a gift from God! God is the One we rely on and trust to save our souls, and He wants us to rejoice in that! How about when you are making a decision? We aren’t always sure what the right choice is, but God wants us to remember that He always knows what is best for us! In the end, if you have asked Jesus to be your Savior, He has defeated death for you so you could live for Him, and that is a gift that is freely given to us.  Keep our eyes fixed on Jesus; He wants you to experience a joy-filled life!  

Hands 

In John 16, Jesus tells us we will have trouble in this world, but He has overcome the world. No one can take our joy away from us! So, what can we do today when disappointment or sadness comes knocking at our door?  Do we answer it with hopelessness or anger or do we count our blessings? Remember what Jesus has done for us, and think about the day when we will worship God in heaven where there will be no more tears or disappointment or anger.  I say we put on worship music and sing to the One who loves so much that He has given us joy forever! 

Prayer: Heavenly Father, we read in the Bible about the sacrifice You made for us by Your Son to earth as a human who experienced suffering, ridicule, and hatred, and then You allowed Jesus to take our place on the cross and die for our sins.  Lord, I don’t think there are enough days or ways to express my humble thankfulness to You for Your sacrifice for my sins.  But I want to be joyful so others may ask me about the hope and joy and I can point them to you! Help me to be a blessing to others because of the blessing I received from Your love for me. In Jesus’s name, Amen.