Scripture: John 16: 1-7

I have said these things to you so that you won’t fall away. They will expel you from the synagogue. The time is coming when those who kill you will think that they are doing a service to God. They will do these things because they don’t know the Father or me. But I have said these things to you so that when their time comes, you will remember that I told you about them.

“I didn’t say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. But now I go away to the one who sent me. None of you ask me, ‘Where are you going?’ Yet because I have said these things to you, you are filled with sorrow. I assure you that it is better for you that I go away. If I don’t go away, the Companion won’t come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.

Consider:

In this passage, Christ is preparing the disciples for something they never wanted to experience: His departure. For them, His physical presence meant safety, clarity, and direction. The thought of losing Him filled them with grief.

Jesus acknowledges this grief and sense of loss. He has led the disciples through and around and into an entirely new theological era and mindset. He isn’t blind to the very human reaction of losing a friend, a mentor, a teacher right at the time it feels he is needed most.

But then He says something surprising: “It is for your good that I am going away.”

How could His leaving possibly be good?

Jesus explains that His departure would make way for the coming of the Holy Spirit, which opened up the door of this new faith to everyone. While Jesus had been physically present with them, the Spirit would come to dwell within believers everywhere. Instead of God walking beside a few disciples in one place, the full expanse of God’s love would take up a place in the hearts of all who follow Christ, not just a few lucky enough to SEE Jesus.

Sometimes God’s work in our lives also feels like loss. A season ends, a door closes, or something familiar is taken away. Like the disciples, we may only see the absence. But God often uses those moments to bring about something deeper that we could not experience otherwise, and it will serve us well to keep watch for the unexpected thing.

Respond:

Think on a time where you experienced a sense of loss over something. Are there things you see now that you could not see then about how God was guiding you toward something new? Have you experienced a loss or change that actually strengthened your faith rather than weaken it? Think on that experience for a moment today.

Pray:

Lord, help me trust You when Your plans feel confusing or painful. Teach me to believe that even in what feels like loss, You are working for good. Amen.

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