His heart weighted his chest. Questions reeled round and around his mind: What did I do to deserve this? When will this be resolved? When will things ever return to normal again?
Heart-wrenching hours turned into weary weeks, which ran into miserable months without reprieve.
Yet Luke 1:6 assures us both John and his wife, Elizabeth, lived righteously in God’s sight. They were both brokenhearted, but they kept their faith. They had not stopped serving the Lord. John served the Lord at the temple and was graced with the draw of entering into the inner sanctuary. With one weary foot in front of the other, he obediently set to serve. Sadness, disappointment, and sorrow slowed his steps.
Maybe like me, you can relate to the despair drowning John’s spirit. Life isn’t how we imagined. It’s not as we would have authored. Yet, some how, some way, we must find a way to persevere, just as John persevered. But, how?
John didn’t stop.
He didn’t stand still.
He didn’t wallow in the present muck.
He served his Sovereign God. He lived as instructed even though life wasn’t as he wanted. He trusted, some how, some way, God would work in even this. He kept going!
John served and he waited for the Lord. He grew old, yet still served, obeying the Lord’s command. He did what he was called to do, while waiting on the Lord.
It was in the midst of his serving, doing his calling, something unheard of, unprecedented, yes, even miraculous happened: an angel appeared with a message. And a promise was spoken over him: “There will be joy and delight for you,” Luke 1:14a (HCSB)
A time was coming when his mourning would turn to joy! God would take his sorrow and exchange it for gladness, just as recorded in Jeremiah 31:13.
A day was coming, after all this time, that John and Elizabeth would be honored, not downcast; having their dreams fulfilled and even more! Their personal joy of finally having a child, a son, would come! The moments and the memories, the laughter and the love that would fill their hearts and home! The cultural climate would shift: their infertility would no longer arouse suspicion or judgement. The louder than necessary whispers would cease, their shame would be erased! Their days would not be dictated per protocol, they would not feel the need to hide their faces. God indeed had redeemed even this!
Today we live a life we would never author. Most of us have experienced unprecedented sadness, disappointment, and sorrow.
It’s almost inconceivable that we should imagine claiming the promise for our future, “There will be joy and delight for you.”
How do we bridge between today’s dismal and disheartening challenges, and the bright promise of tomorrow’s joy?
Exactly as John did: keep faith and serve the Lord. Serve in whatever capacity He has called.
It’s not easy. I know I don’t always feel like it. But stepping out in faith and persevering through the trials will build our trust in Him. We must cling to these three promises to see us through:
- Sorrows will pass. (See Revelation 21:4)
- He will provide for our needs. (See Philippians 4:19)
- He rewards faithfulness. (See Proverbs 3:3-4, and Colossians 3:23-24).
John and Elizabeth endured an arduously long season of sorrow. Yet they remained faithful to God. They stepped out in faith even when they couldn’t clearly see the path to overwhelming joy.
God rewarded their faithfulness. He spoke and delivered in the promise, “There will be joy and delight for you.”
Dear friend, we too will see joy and delight one day on our own faces staring back in the mirror! Right now, we need to persevere with Him through today, through this arduously long season.
Will you join me in prayer for just that?
Prayer: Dear God, You see where I am. Stuck here, sad, disappointed. Deep sorrow doesn’t even begin to describe it. Yet, You promise these sorrows will pass. You promise to provide for all of my needs. God, please give me what I need, including the faith needed to serve You today. Thank You that indeed joy and delight are coming! In Jesus’ name, Amen.