For the last few weeks, the journey has taken me through John 14-16. In life, things are sometimes cloudy. We don’t completely understand and have a lot of questions, but with faith, we can look up high to gain a vision for the future. We pray for answers and for God to shine the Light.

Things were cloudy for the disciples too. In John 13:36 through 14:11, Peter asked Jesus where He was going. Jesus said they could not follow now but would follow later. The takeaway from this passage for me is that if we know Jesus, we know the Father so let us work hard to keep the number one priority our number one. If we are one in Christ, things are not cloudy at all, but clear and bright.

As explained in John 14:12-21, Jesus promises the Holy Spirit. He says to believe in Him to acquire the Holy Spirit. Then, those who believe create a network of people that share this power beyond comprehension from heaven. It’s the power source that brings devotion and joy to facilitate God’s purposes.  

Focusing in on the passage John 14:22-31, the evidence of love is obedience and Jesus demonstrated His love on the Cross. Because of His love, the paradigm was shifted, and the gloomy outlook was lifted. We gain momentum from the victory as each day in the future is brighter and brighter.

We are told in John 15:1-17 that Jesus is the vine, the Father is the vine dresser, and the disciples are the branches. To produce fruit, there needs to be some pruning by the vine dresser. Look at adversity as part of this pruning to make one fit for service. Like Christ who went through a painful death yet proved His love on the cross, we are to let our love show in how we live out our lives and help others.

We are told in John 15:18-27 that there is a relationship between the Father, Son, and His followers. We noted that the world will tell us we will never be triumphant but don’t listen. As one in Christ, there is courage to step out of our comfort zone and bring glory to God.

We gained precious insight from reading John 16:1-11 as Jesus explained that the goodness of God would reside inside our heart and soul. The indwelling Spirit would be available to us at all times to teach, guide, and help us apply our faith.

Reading John 16:12-24, there are three aspects of the Spirit’s work with the believer. One is that the Spirit guides into all the Truth. He will communicate Truth from the Father because there is a relationship between the Father, Son, and Spirit. The second aspect is provision. A believer can ask for help in Jesus’ name through prayer to carry out God’s work. The third aspect is encouragement to turn the tide.

A thought from John 16:25-33 is that in this world there will be trouble, but we can take heart because there is comfort and value in Christ’s sufferings. We can lay our burdens down at the foot of the Cross, access God’s power through prayer, and follow the Way from instructions found in His word.

When adding up all mixed emotions from despair to joy, let us solve all problems with Jesus. The answer to any problem has Jesus as the common denominator. Ask for God’s help in prayer because He can take a temporary defeat and turn it into a major victory with great joy.