Receiving Joy - 9/10/2023

As the disciples stood there in the night's moonlight, listening to Jesus, they were utterly confused. They could not understand what He was saying. Jesus had told Him all that would happen. They recognized Him as the Messiah. In Matthew 16:16, after Jesus asks Peter who he thinks He is, Peter proclaims, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Yet, as they stood there that evening baffled, we watch on with some embarrassment for them because we know how the story ends. It is hard to believe they spent all this time with Jesus and still did not fully understand. Jesus desperately wanted to prepare His disciples for what is ahead in the next several days. Still, their spiritual understanding was limited because they had not been indwelt with the Spirit of truth who would guide them, declare truth to them, and embolden them with that truth. Just as the disciples would soon experience, we also will suffer anguish in our lives, but we have been given the Holy Spirit to minister to us in our sorrow so that we can receive His joy.