The poet, Francis Thompson, once wrote: “Nothing comes and nothing goes, that is paid with moan; Jesus, facing imminent death, voices his feelings about pain and joy. He says sadness and pain in general will eventually be conquered by joy and happiness.
The example of a mother giving birth to a child is presented here to demonstrate how pains become lost in joys. When a mother converses with others about her baby, she doesn’t constantly discuss how painful it was to give birth. She rejoices that the child is alive and well and her attention is turned toward the future.
When we are in the midst of many projects, we often must suffer in order to bring them to completion. When the project is finished the joys of success crowd the sufferings from our minds. (John 16:20-23)