(John 16:20)
“But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren…that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.” 1 Thessalonians 4:13
The scripture does not lead us to believe that Christians have no sorrow, but rather due to our hope in Christ, we do not sorrow as the unsaved, who are without real hope.
Jeremiah’s life was filled with such heartbreaking experiences in witnessing the spiritual apostasy and eventual devastation of his country with the Babylonian captivity, that he is often referred to as the weeping prophet. Some of this is reflected in the Book of Lamentations. Job wept while suffering the loss of all things, even his health, as he was despised and denigrated by his friends. Our Lord and Saviour was “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3). There were many periods in David’s life that are reflected in Psalm 38:17: “For I am ready to halt, and my sorrow is continually before me.”
Yet in light of the hope God’s Word sets before us, our faith is enabled to triumph over our sorrow, “As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing” 2 Corinthians 6:10.
The difference is that a lost person’s present hope will all be swallowed up in the coming eternal hopelessness, while a saved person’s sorrow will all be swallowed up in the coming glory that awaits us.
An unsaved person has no Divine intervention for their problems, whereas with the saved, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want”, assures us that whenever necessary, God can and will intervene in the lives of those waiting upon Him. The lost have no larger plan and purpose for their lives, but the saved know God has a larger plan for our lives that involves His care. The lost have no promise that everything will work out for them in the end, whereas the saved have the promise that, at the outcome of all our trials, everything will work out for good to those that love the Lord and are the called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)
Thus, as we sorrow in this life, our sorrow is enlightened with, “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” Romans 8:18. “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.” John 14:1
SHARING
