Telling the Truth

Guest (Female): Everyone's grief journey is different. Some draw closer to God, others push Him away. If you're grieving right now, Stuart Briscoe today shares about how God is there, walking the journey of grief with you. More from Stuart coming up.

Guest (Male): When life’s storms suddenly come your way, how do you respond? Do you doubt God’s presence, questioning His concern for you? Or do you see storms as part of God’s plan for your life and rest assured He cares for you and is in control of all things?

We want to help you trust in God’s care and control in all the storms you face by sending you Jill Briscoe’s message, *Weathering the Storms of Life*, as well as a set of 12 beautifully designed scripture cards to encourage you in troubled times.

*Weathering the Storms of Life* and the set of 12 scripture cards are our thanks for your gift today to help more people experience life through the teaching and resources of Telling the Truth. So request your copy when you give today. Call 1-800-889-5388. That’s 1-800-889-5388. Or give online at tellingthetruth.org. Now here’s Stuart and his message, "Comfort Through Grief."

Stuart Briscoe: There's a lot of hurt in our world at the present time. Christians know full well that they live in a harsh world. Christians, however, believe firmly that on the basis of the teaching of our Lord Jesus, in the midst of our grief, it is possible for us to have comfort and to know peace and joy.

Notice specifically what Jesus said to His disciples commencing with verse 20 of John 16: "I tell you the truth, 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."

Now we'll be looking further into this passage, but let me just identify two things for you that I trust will help us to understand the teaching of the Lord as recorded for us here. The first thing I'd like to draw out for you is the experience of the disciples that the Lord Jesus was addressing, and then the explanation that He gave of what was going on in their lives.

You'll remember that the Lord Jesus had announced to His disciples that in a little while they would not see Him, and then in a little while they would see Him again. At the same time, He had explained to them that He was going to the Father who had sent Him. Now, the experience of the disciples was a total lack of comprehension. They really did not know what He was talking about. They couldn't get a handle on what it was that was going on.

So the Lord Jesus explained to them that He had been speaking figuratively to them, but that there would be a time coming when all that He had been saying figuratively would be made abundantly clear to them. Now the problem, of course, was that His disciples, after three years with Him, couldn't understand all this business about "yet a little while you won't see me, then you'll see me, and I'm going back to the Father."

Subsequently, after His death and resurrection and ascension, they said, "Oh, that's what He was talking about." And that which He had said in riddles and in proverbs became abundantly clear. Now, what happens sometimes when life gets harsh with us? What happens when sometimes we're confronted with the vicissitudes of life? We are as uncomprehending as these disciples.

We say to ourselves, "What in the world is going on? What is God doing? What is God saying?" If we're not careful, we can even come to the point of doubting if God is interested. We can even come to the point of doubting whether God exists. We can even, in the hardness of our own grief and pain, determine to reject the concept of God altogether.

Now this, of course, is exactly the wrong way to go. What Jesus is trying to show people is certainly there will be many, many causes of grief, but the result of that is not to be uncomprehending about what God is doing, but to begin to understand what is happening and discover in Him peace and joy. You'll notice also there was a lack of comfort as far as these disciples were concerned.

As the Lord Jesus was giving this teaching to them and they didn't understand, they didn't talk to Him about it. They talked to each other. Now that's a common failing. You see, the problem for many people is this: that when times of grief come into their lives, the last person they talk to about it is God. They'll talk to all kinds of friends and they'll talk to all kinds of family, but it never occurs to them that God might have something to say to them. They're uncomfortable with Him.

So like the disciples, they not only lack comprehension of what God is doing, but they lack comfort in terms of responding to Him, which leads to the third thing that happened as far as these disciples were concerned. That was a total lack of composure. Now, as the Lord Jesus was speaking to them and explaining that eventually He would not speak to them figuratively and they would understand, they reacted very positively to that.

They said, "Oh, now we understand everything." Jesus knew that they didn't. He knew that they really hadn't got a handle on things, and that was not altogether their fault because all the things that He'd been teaching them would only begin to make sense after His death and resurrection. They had not grasped what was going on. They didn't focus everything in the death and resurrection for obvious reasons.

Sometimes neither do we. And if we do not focus our grief into what God has done in Christ in His death and resurrection, we will find ourselves lacking composure as well. You see, let's face it: if you have an immature faith and you find yourself like the disciples confronting some of the harsh realities of life, then you'll find yourself with inadequate resources.

Inadequate resources married to immature faith in the face of impending tribulation lead to inevitable collapse. Now, it is not uncommon for people who start out with a superficial faith or an infant faith—perhaps they're brought up in a Christian environment, perhaps they're brought up in a Christian family introduced in early years to Christian teaching, and they may even make a Christian profession.

But as time goes on, they drift away. And then because life is what it is, they run into some grief situations. Jesus was absolutely straightforward when He said, "In the world, you will have trouble." Trouble means loss, and loss means irretrievable loss. We cannot do a thing about it; it's outside our control, and grief is the inevitable result.

If we don't handle grief properly, if our faith is immature, this is what will happen: the grief will become so overwhelming, the sense of loss will become so pervasive, that we will lose sight of what we even believe minimally. There's a very high probability that we will not only begin to distrust God, we may even become bitter and hardened against Him.

People who have gone through this whole process because of immature faith, they had inadequate resources. When the inevitable circumstances came, there was an utter moral and spiritual collapse. The tragedy was, if they had known who God is, if they had understood what Christ has done in the midst of their inevitable loss, they would have discovered, incredibly, peace and joy in the midst of their grief. And that, of course, is one of the things that the Christian message is all about.

Guest (Male): More powerful teaching from the Briscoes is headed your way, so don't go anywhere. We’ve made a wide array of resources and content available to you online for free at tellingthetruth.org and on the Telling the Truth app. There you can listen, read, and watch powerful teaching from Stuart and Jill on relevant topics, like the sovereignty of God, the importance of the church, and how to grow closer with Jesus.

You can also request this month’s featured resource as thanks for your gift of support to help share the abundant life Jesus offers with more people around the world. Visit us online or download the app today and experience life with Telling the Truth. Now let’s hear more from Stuart.

Stuart Briscoe: Well, let me go on now and show you how the Lord Jesus addressed these particular issues as far as His disciples were concerned. Just two things: He made some predictions, and He gave them some promises. The predictions, we’ve already pointed them out, but let me just underline them again for you. Number one, He said, "In a little while you will not see me; you will grieve, and the world will rejoice."

He was predicting His death. He was predicting the fact that when He died, they—His disciples—would be absolutely devastated. The second prediction is this: "In yet a little while, you will see me again." And listen to this: "And your grief will be turned to joy." Your grief will be turned to joy. Now, this is clearly a statement concerning His resurrection.

In the resurrection, there is the basis for joy. This was something that He was predicting. We’ll see a little bit more about this in a moment. He also predicted that all His disciples would desert Him. He said in this particular passage, "There’s a time coming when you’ll be scattered. Each will go to his own home. You’ll leave me alone, but I won’t be alone; the Father will be with me."

Now, this was incomprehensible to the disciples. You remember Peter. Peter, somewhat superciliously, said to the Lord, "Now, if these fellows here desert you and they can’t hack it, don’t worry about me. I will stand by you. If necessary, I will die for you." Jesus, quite bluntly, said to him, "Before dawn, before cock crows, you will deny me three times."

This was something that they couldn’t comprehend, but in actual fact, He was true. The other prediction was, "You will have trouble." Now, this is a very gloomy picture: "I’m going to die, you’re going to desert me, all kinds of trouble I promise you." But He made some promises, and they’re all hinged on the idea that He would rise again from the dead and would turn their grief into joy.

So what’s the key? The key is that there is joy to be discovered in the midst of grief, and it is related to the resurrection of Jesus Christ from among the dead. Now, it may be that you say to yourself, "How in the world can something that happened years ago affect me in my grief today? What possible difference can that make?"

Well, look at it this way: when the Lord Jesus rose again from the dead, He actually conquered everything that conquers us. "In the world, you will have trouble," Jesus said it. Why do we have trouble? We have trouble because of the forces of evil. We have trouble because there's sin in the world. We have trouble because we're fallen creatures. We have trouble because we've inherited a fallen environment.

There are things that happen to us that are totally outside our control. Trouble on every hand. When Jesus rose again from the dead, He demonstrated that He was greater than all the things that cause us trouble. He defeated everything that defeats us. So when we begin to think in terms of Jesus addressing these people concerning their deep joy, it is clearly related to the resurrection.

Not only that, in this passage, Jesus explains that because of His death and resurrection and ascension, men and women will have direct access to the Father. They will discover that He loves them, that He hears them, that He knows them, and that He answers their prayers. Now, I hope you’ve noticed the conditions upon which answered prayer depend.

But for our purposes right now, let me just remind you that you do not need an intermediary between you and God, apart from the Lord Jesus. You have access to Him. You have access to a God who loves you, who cares for you, who plans for you, who protects for you, who provides for you, and who hears you and who answers your prayers. And therein lies your joy.

The problem is, of course, we can become so overwhelmed with our circumstances that we lose sight of our resurrection Lord and the access we have to the Father. The problem is, of course, that we confuse happiness and joy. Now, on many occasions, I’ve explained to you my theory of happiness, but let me do it again because I think it will make a point here.

For many people, happiness is dependent on happenings. Are you with me so far? Happiness depends on happenings. And this is how it works: if my happenings happen to happen the way I happen to want my happenings to happen, I’m happy. Do you want me to go through that again? This is how it works: if my happiness is related to my happenings, then provided my happenings happen to happen the way I happen to want my happenings to happen, I’m happy.

But by the law of averages, there are going to be all kinds of happenings that happen to happen exactly the way I happen not to want my happenings to happen. And what’s the result? Unhappiness. Now, that’s exactly how it works for people. So what do they spend their time doing? Trying to organize their happenings so they happen to happen the way they happen to want their happenings to happen. And they can’t do it, and they’re frustrated, and there’s a sense of loss, and they get angry and bitter and upset and deep, deep grief. And the problem is happiness.

What is joy? Joy is a deep-rooted sense of well-being that transcends your circumstances because you know that Jesus has risen, that He’s triumphed over them, that the ultimate victory is His. And in the interim, you have direct personal access to a loving, caring Father who hears and answers and supports and encourages. And your joy is in Him, not in your circumstances. You can't handle your circumstances anyway, but you can trust and obey Him.

Joy that no one can take away. It’s important that we recognize this joy that no one can take away, because you see, there are some people who could conceivably want to take away your life. They could conceivably take away your life, but they couldn't take away your joy because they can't alter the fact that Jesus is risen and God loves you, hears you, and cares for you.

That is why the history of the Christian church is replete with stories of martyrs who died praising God. There are some people who could conceivably take away your liberty. You’ll notice that He did say quite categorically, "I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

Notice two things very carefully here: "In the world, you *will* have trouble. In me, you *may* have peace." Did you notice the difference? You *will* and you *may*. If we had written it out, we would have said, "Well, in the world you *may* have trouble, but in me you *will* have peace." He said no, that isn't how it works.

"In the world," He said, "I categorically promise you, without a shadow of a doubt, unequivocally, you *will* have trouble. Got it? But you *may* have peace." You say, "Well, if He guarantees trouble, why doesn't He guarantee peace?" Because peace is, as He put it, in Him. And not everybody wants to live their lives in Christ.

The sense of peace or the tranquility of order, as Augustine put it, is found only in Christ. The Lord Jesus therefore says to them, "Take heart! Take heart! Enjoy my peace. Experience my joy in the midst of your grieving." Let me ask you a question: do you live your life a victim of your circumstances, or do you live your life in the light of the crucified, risen, ascended Lord? If you live in the light of the risen Lord, even when you’re grieving, your grief will be turned to joy and you’ll know peace.

Guest (Male): Stuart, why should the maturing of one’s faith be a priority?

Stuart Briscoe: I guess to answer the question about the maturing of one’s faith being a priority, one has to look at what is the significance of faith. If we can understand the significance of faith, I think obviously the maturing of it is going to be of prime importance. So, what do we learn from scripture on the subject of faith?

Well, first of all, we start out by saying by faith we believe that the heavens and the earth were created by the word of God. That's where we start. Okay, by faith we believe that God exists and He is the creator of all things, including us. All right, then fast forward. What do we read? By grace are you saved through faith.

So in other words, salvation is made available to us on the basis of the grace of God appropriated by faith. Then what? By faith we stand. By faith we stand. And what else? We walk by faith and not by sight. And what else? This is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith. And what else? The prayer of faith is the prayer that works wonders in the world today. Now, if we put all that together and we see the importance of faith, we’ll see the importance of faith being developed and matured.

Guest (Male): Jesus conquered everything that conquers us. When we’re facing something in life that seems insurmountable, Stuart, how should we proceed?

Stuart Briscoe: When Jesus was on the cross, I think we’ll all agree that God was faced with a dilemma: the eternal Son, having assumed our humanity, had now yielded Himself to death, even the death of a cross, and He was dead. God now is faced with the enormous task of breathing life into deadness and bringing out of the grave a person who was triumphant over sin and death and hell and the grave and the devil himself.

Now, that is what God faced and that is what God handled with considerable aplomb. He simply raised up Christ from the dead and showed Him openly. All right, now then, if you believe in a God like that, then you have the beginnings of a life of boundless opportunity. We are simply to accept what God says.

And it is this: that if the spirit of Him that raised up Christ from the dead dwells in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead will also raise again your mortal bodies through His spirit who dwells in you. It's going to make all the difference in the world how you face life when you believe that the God, in raising Christ from the dead, conquered all that conquers us.

Guest (Male): Thanks for joining us today here on Telling the Truth. We pray today's message has helped you to experience life in all its fullness through Jesus Christ. When life’s storms suddenly come your way, how do you respond? Do you doubt God’s presence, questioning His concern for you? Or do you see storms as part of God’s plan for your life and rest assured He cares for you and is in control of all things?

We want to help you trust in God’s care and control in all the storms you face by sending you Jill Briscoe’s message, *Weathering the Storms of Life*, as well as a set of 12 beautifully designed scripture cards to encourage you in troubled times. In *Weathering the Storms of Life*, Jill teaches from the Gospel of Mark, examining the disciples’ experience in a sudden storm to address the issues of suffering and faith, challenging you to examine your belief in God in the midst of trouble.

Her teaching and the scripture cards will encourage you as you discover how you can be sure of God’s love for you and His control over every circumstance, no matter how sudden, severe, or unexpected. *Weathering the Storms of Life* and the set of 12 scripture cards are our thanks for your gift to help more people experience life through the teaching and resources of Telling the Truth. So request your copy when you give today. Call 1-800-889-5388. That’s 1-800-889-5388. Or give online at tellingthetruth.org. Thanks for being here today. Come back again for more biblical truth to help you experience life. Join us next time on Telling the Truth.