A LONG VIEW OF JOY
Opening Prayer
As I come to your Word today, open my eyes and unstop my ears, Lord, so I can see and hear you clearly.
Read ISAIAH 35
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
Joy of the Redeemed
35 The desert and the parched land will be glad;
the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.
Like the crocus, 2 it will burst into bloom;
it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,
the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;
they will see the glory of the Lord,
the splendor of our God.
3 Strengthen the feeble hands,
steady the knees that give way;
4 say to those with fearful hearts,
“Be strong, do not fear;
your God will come,
he will come with vengeance;
with divine retribution
he will come to save you.”
5 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened
and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
6 Then will the lame leap like a deer,
and the mute tongue shout for joy.
Water will gush forth in the wilderness
and streams in the desert.
7 The burning sand will become a pool,
the thirsty ground bubbling springs.
In the haunts where jackals once lay,
grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.
8 And a highway will be there;
it will be called the Way of Holiness;
it will be for those who walk on that Way.
The unclean will not journey on it;
wicked fools will not go about on it.
9 No lion will be there,
nor any ravenous beast;
they will not be found there.
But only the redeemed will walk there,
10 and those the Lord has rescued will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;
everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away.
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Nehemiah said, ‘… the joy of the Lord is your strength.’1 Has this ever been your experience? How has joy strengthened your faith?
Have you ever been in an airplane, flying through stormy turbulence – and then into perfect, calm weather? How did you feel the moment you saw the sun? That helps us feel the joy Isaiah describes here; the dark judgment of chapter 34 has been suddenly replaced by the brilliant joy of chapter 35. What a relief! The question we must ponder, however, is: what was the source of the joy?
The answer for Israel is: ‘God will come … with divine retribution … to save you’ (v. 4). Isaiah is predicting a time when God will intervene to deal decisively with their enemies and bring his exiled and oppressed people back to Zion, singing all the way (v. 10). Isaiah describes the route to this ideal future as ‘the Way of Holiness’ (v. 8), reminding us that because God himself is holy, as Isaiah so memorably learned,2 we, too, must work at living holy lives. As Peter specifically challenged us: “But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy.’”3
This chapter also prompts us to take a long view of joy. It’s true, we live in a turbulent world and when we read the news it often feels as though the dark clouds of sin and evil are closing in. But our hope is the certainty that someday, maybe soon, Jesus will return and put things right, enabling us to be with him forever. Unlike an airplane that ascends through the clouds to safety, Jesus will descend through the clouds to meet us and take us home forever.4 Our joy will be that of the prodigal experiencing the embrace of our Heavenly Father, forever. What joy!
Apply
Close your eyes and imagine what the second coming of Jesus might look like in your world. How does it make you feel? How will it affect your week?
Closing prayer
Lord God, when I am tempted to be discouraged as I look at the world around me, help me to lift my eyes toward heaven and take courage, remembering the promises for the future I know you will keep.
1 Neh 8:10 2 Isa 6:3 3 1 Pet 1:15, 16 4 Acts 1:10, 11; 1 Thess 4:16–18
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