John 14:18

¹⁸ “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”

 Alas, the world had seen its darkest day.  Jesus, the Light of the world was dead, buried and sealed in a tomb.  With the crucifixion of Jesus, the wickedness of men had finally reached the pinnacle of its malevolence.  And while the enemies of God erupted into a very brief celebration, those who were closest to Jesus had sunk down to the deepest depths of bewilderment and despair.  The unspeakable joy of the resurrection was but hours away, and yet, the disciples could not see past the hopelessness of the moment.  Jesus, their master, friend, and Lord was dead.  He had gone to a place that they were sure they could never reach Him.  At this moment, Jesus felt further away than the most unreachable star in the universe.  Had Jesus abandoned those whom He claimed to love?  It is easy for us to dismiss the deep pain of abandonment that the disciples felt after the death of Jesus, because we know the whole story!  However, in the moment of the confusion of loss, they had forgotten these words of Jesus…”I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you”  And yet, isn’t it so true of us that in times of great suffering, despair and loss we often ponder the same question, “Has the Lord forsaken me?”  “Has He forgotten me in my plight?”  I am sure that everyone of us has raised this question up when the deep sadness and distress of our darkest night were upon us…when the world seemed to close in on us and there seemed to be no hope in sight.  “Where are You, Lord!?” has been a question that the Lord has heard in the deepest groanings of the prayers of a million saints.  His answer?  It has always been the same; “I am here with you, even now.”  We may not see Him, perceive Him in the overwhelming pain of our sadness.  He may seem to be further away than the furthest star in the universe.  We may not understand how this suffering is being worked out for our good.  But may we learn to never question if the Lord is remaining faithful to our cause.  He is with us!  It was in the hopelessness of the crucifixion that the Lord was planning His greatest victory!  And it is often in the depths of our deepest sadness and loss that the Lord is planning His greatest work in our lives!  Let us then refrain from those thoughts that question God’s faithfulness to us.  There are unquestionably times when we all feel as if the Lord is distant, even indifferent to our plight.  But hold firm in your faith!  Because in truth, He is ever with you, ever watchful, ever mindful of your needs.  There is not a single hair on your head that is not known by God!  He is always working much further down the road than we could ever see.  Even when we feel as though He is far away, He is not.  Though sorrow may last for the night, joy comes with the breaking of morning!  May we always hold onto our faith until that morning comes!  O glorious light of day!  It is not too far.  Let these words of Jesus calm your heart, strengthen your soul and uplift your countenance this night…”I will not leave you as an orphan; I will come to you”. 

Yours in Christ,

Pastor John