I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.

John 16:33

Sometimes our greatest hope is found through our deepest grief.

That was certainly my experience after the sudden loss of my dad last year. There was no warning, no chance to say goodbye. Just a phone call that let me know he was gone.

I have never known deeper pain than in the weeks that followed. The questions, the confusion, the suffocating grief like a weight that seemed as though it would never lift. But as the weeks passed, I was reminded of this truth… 

My dad is free.

Free from all suffering and pain. And one day, when I am also free, I will see him again. It was in that truth that I rediscovered a hope that felt more real, more palpable, than ever.

Facing the reality that I would never spend another day in this life with my dad was one of the most difficult things I have ever had to do. I allowed myself to become swallowed up by a grief and sadness that I had never before experienced, and had nearly forgotten the promises of God in the midst of it all. But isn’t it in our darkest times that God’s light is able to shine the brightest? In our weakest moments, we are able to see just how strong He is. In the times where we are rendered incapable of doing anything, the beauty of what He has already done for us becomes that much more evident.

There is great hope tucked in the portion of John 16:33 that states, “In the world you will have tribulation.” I have been learning to embrace these words, not whisking by them to get to the promise in the sentence that follows, “But take heart; I have overcome the world.” We do not need to be surprised when we face difficulties and heartbreak, as we know with certainty that they will come. They are simply the consequences of this broken world. Not one person is exempt from facing hard times. Not even Jesus. So we can rest assured that just because we face them, it is not evidence that God is not with us. 

Our hope is not found in this life.

It’s not found in the joys we experience in this life. It is found in the One who overcame this life, this world, and even death. Our hope is found in Jesus alone. We can look forward, with great expectation, to the day that we see Him face to face. To the day we will also be reunited with those we have lost in this life. And to the day when “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Rev. 21:4)