Good Grief
The phrase was first said in modern times in the Charlie Brown comic book in 1952. 'Good grief' soon became uniquely tied to Charlie Brown and the Peanuts, and still is associated with it today.
As we know, Charlie is kind of awkward, and nothing really goes his way. 'Good grief' was his way of saying he was bummed out. The rest of the cast says it as well.
Although Charles Schulz (the creator of Charlie Brown) may have coined this phrase for his character in 1952, it's certainly not the first time the idea of this catch phrase was publicized.
In our text today, John 16:16-23, good grief sort of sums up what Jesus is telling His disciples. Although they were 'bummed out' about what He was telling them about His departure, Jesus puts a unique spin on it. He promises that although they will experience grief and sorrow, the pain they experience will ultimately turn to joy. The grief will turn good.
Like Jesus' disciples, we often question why God does certain things. Especially when the circumstances of life cause us pain and anguish. Death, sickness, the loss of income, difficult relationships, loneliness, depression, and so on, can cause extreme, intense emotional pain.
In verse 19, John writes, 'Jesus knew they wished to question Him...' Jesus knows our thoughts, our worries, our sorrows and our grief. He wants us to know that He knows, so we can have the hope that He promises us.
God wants us to be victorious through our grief. But how do we develop this hope? Is it just a matter of 'letting go and letting God'? It's not that easy, is it? The scriptures give us a specific strategy for believers to live victoriously and joyfully through grief, sorrow and anguish, and it only require one single focus. This one focus will be revealed as we dig into John 16:16-23 tomorrow.
We're almost through Jesus' final discourse with His disciples. Chapter 17 is the High Priestly prayer and after that the glorious cross and resurrection. Remember, this conversation with His disciples started way back in chapter 13 (good grief! ;-). And the last time the disciples spoke a word was around chapter 14. Now they speak up. Read ahead and see if you can discover the one single focus Jesus speaks of in order to turn grief and sorrow into good.
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