Isaiah
Together
Isaiah
Together
Week Three: Joy
Isaiah 35:1-10
The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad;
the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus;
2 it shall blossom abundantly
and rejoice with joy and singing.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.
They shall see the glory of the Lord,
the majesty of our God.
3 Strengthen the weak hands,
and make firm the feeble knees.
4 Say to those who have an anxious heart,
“Be strong; fear not!
Behold, your God
will come with vengeance,
with the recompense of God.
He will come and save you.”
5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
6 then shall the lame man leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.
For waters break forth in the wilderness,
and streams in the desert;
7 the burning sand shall become a pool,
and the thirsty ground springs of water;
in the haunt of jackals, where they lie down,
the grass shall become reeds and rushes.
8 And a highway shall be there,
and it shall be called the Way of Holiness;
the unclean shall not pass over it.
It shall belong to those who walk on the way;
even if they are fools, they shall not go astray.
9 No lion shall be there,
nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it;
they shall not be found there,
but the redeemed shall walk there.
10 And the ransomed of the Lord shall return
and come to Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
they shall obtain gladness and joy,
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
Judah’s Bad Idea
This passage comes in an interesting place in the Book of Isaiah. King Hezekiah of Judah (703 B.C.) who had otherwise been a good king, makes a faithless move by entering an alliance with Egypt to assist them against the threatening Assyrian empire. This is a classic case of “doing evil that good may come,” allying with one ungodly power to escape another. We are tempted to do this all the time, trying to right one wrong by committing another.
But Isaiah is clear that this will not work and that only faith in God and repentance from sin will bring salvation. In our lives, following God’s law in the Bible in every circumstance and trusting God to take care of the rest is always the right answer.
But then right after detailing all of the bad consequences that will come from this, God changes his tune and points forward to a bright and prosperous future that he has planned for his people afterward. God will save his people even despite their faithlessness in him.
Joy in the Lord’s Future
Through Jesus, Isaiah’s prophecy was fulfilled. Salvation came despite Israel’s persistent rejection of him. This tells us something wonderful: that God’s love for us does not change, no matter what we’ve done.
Because of this, the default attitude of the Christian life is to be joyful. If we believe that we have a future in God then our attitude will be happy even in lean times. Look closely at verse 4: to those who are anxious, “Be strong; fear not!” Christians have always stood out when they remain joyful through hard situations. This is because their hope in God’s salvation does not depend on our circumstances, or even our record of conduct. God’s gracious salvation through Jesus is available to us, and we have real hope that he will accomplish it.
The delight of being satisfied by God
People who are in love with God are happy, even in trials. It can be easy to get bogged down in the day to day and fail to realize that God is active in our lives. By lifting our eyes above our trials, we find God’s goodness all around us. We become delighted by God, filled with His Spirit and satisfied in Him. Then, from this abundance and overflow that we find in God, we are able to go on mission and serve our neighbors. This is the what Jesus calls the “greatest commandment”, love of God (lifting our eyes) and love of neighbor (mission).
Gratitude
It’s not easy to find this satisfaction especially as we are weighted down with “anxious hearts” (v. 4) or feel like we are in a dry season. A good place to start is gratitude. The practice of gratitude forces us to realize where God is providing for us and sustaining us in our lives. Many great saints of our time and throughout the ages have kept a prayer journal. This is a wonderful place to begin recording daily, even just a few small things, that you are grateful for. You might even try writing down all your prayer requests and then going back in your journal and ticking off the prayers that God has answered. You will quickly see the evidence of God in your life with this practice!
Join Ms. Gina by her fireside again this week as she shares about joy and leads us in a fun craft!