“Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.” John 16:22 (NIV)

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There are some days when, frankly, I don’t feel much like worshiping God. There are probably more days like that than I’d care to admit.

But usually those are days when I’m staring at my circumstances and making faithless judgments about what I see around me. And I struggle with the God-truth that he is in the circumstances surrounding my life – all the circumstances.

Christ was so sure his grief would turn to joy that he showed a radiant certainty in God’s faithfulness. This phrase, radiant certainty, is by William Barclay to describe the attitude of Jesus at the Last Supper.

Heading into a crisis that would cost him his life, Jesus was so certain – radiantly certain – of God’s faithfulness that not one of his disciples even discerned the gravity of the crisis! Jesus was so certain of God’s faithfulness that it radiated throughout his whole being.

We, also, can have this radiant certainty about God’s hand in our lives. We can say, when it comes to God’s faithfulness, “I know because I know that I know.” That’s radiant certainty! The cross was Christ’s glory — not his penalty – and the same is true of difficult circumstances in our lives.

Radiant certainty emerges from God’s faithfulness – You’ll develop this radiant certainty in God when you learn to trust in his faithful character. Your daily worship of God is irrevocably tied to your faith in God.

Keep your eyes-wise for the “Why me?” traps that lie about your circumstances; instead, ask God, “How do you want me to respond to this?” Keep your eyes-wise for the “Why me?” traps that lie about your circumstances.

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