NOVEMBER 12, 2024
Isaiah 55:12
“For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.”
Do you every have a song just pop into your mind, and it is on repeat for the rest of your day?
I remember driving my children to school and singing parts of songs, like “when the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, It’s Amore,” or an old Carpenter’s song “why do birds suddenly appear everytime you are near? Just like me they want to be close to you.” When I would pick them up at the end of their school day they would still be singing the song. Well I had that yesterday, a song we often close our worship services with based on our Bible Reading today.
You shall go out with joy and be led forth with peace,
And the mountains and the hills will break forth before you.
There'll be shouts of joy and the trees of the fields
Will clap, will clap their hands.
At this point in the book of Isaiah, Chapter 55, God’s people have been completely disobedient, but God the Father is a God of grace and compassion, so he invites them into his lovingkindness. He is restoring them so they may glorify him once again and he is blessing his people. That is why Isaiah 55 is often given the title "the Compassion of God."
Verse 12 specifically commands the people to go out in joy and be led forth in peace. Why does God ask this? How do we, do this?
You shall go out with joy and be led forth with peace,
And the mountains and the hills will break forth before you.
There'll be shouts of joy and the trees of the fields
Will clap, will clap their hands.
At this point in the book of Isaiah, Chapter 55, God’s people have been completely disobedient, but God the Father is a God of grace and compassion, so he invites them into his lovingkindness. He is restoring them so they may glorify him once again and he is blessing his people. That is why Isaiah 55 is often given the title "the Compassion of God."
Verse 12 specifically commands the people to go out in joy and be led forth in peace. Why does God ask this? How do we, do this?
As God's people, we are called to be joyful, “Rejoice always” says 1 Thessalonians 5:16a. Which is not a natural thing for us to do as humans. However, joy becomes easier, when we begin to understand and experience God’s love and his constant amazing generous grace.
There are two reasons we are called to go out in joy in our verse today: For our own sake and for the sake of the world.
Perhaps you have found that when you choose to rejoice in your circumstances, your circumstances do not seem to loom as large, they seem to change. Have you found that life is a bit easier to tackle when we choose a positive and joyous perspective rooted in a trust for God and his promises? May the “God of hope fill you all with joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” says Romans 15:13. Many times I have found, I suspect you have experienced this too, that these words have been fulfilled in you. Abounding in hope is a great place to be.
Going out in joy benefits others. The people around us should be able to recognize our Christian experience by how we love and by the joy we have. Please do not misunderstand, this verse or teaching. It is not saying that Jesus followers always act happy and act like everything is okay – being joyful is different than being happy. Joy is trusting in what God is doing and recognizing that he has a plan. Being joyful means not letting your circumstances crush you. To choose joy is to choose hope.
The idea is that the world sees that our circumstances aren’t crushing us and asks us why. Then we can answer with the glorious news of how good our God is and the hope that we have. When we go out in joy, we allow our own spirits to grow and shine the light of Christ at the same time.
When we allow Christ to lead us and guide our steps and our hearts, we find peace. There is peace in our relationship with God. This does not mean that anxiety or fear ceases to exist though. The world is still corrupt, and still seeks to squeeze us into it’s mold. Yet, when we cling to God, trust him follow his plan in obedience, we will find his peace (Isaiah 32:17).
“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7
Those who truly have the peace of God, will stop needing answers for everything, will stop worrying about everything going on in the world and will simply trust in God and what is to come with hope. When we seek God’s heart, we find peace, an incomprehensible peace that will guide us through this messy life and all the hard places we will face.
Thanks be to God!!
Going out in joy benefits others. The people around us should be able to recognize our Christian experience by how we love and by the joy we have. Please do not misunderstand, this verse or teaching. It is not saying that Jesus followers always act happy and act like everything is okay – being joyful is different than being happy. Joy is trusting in what God is doing and recognizing that he has a plan. Being joyful means not letting your circumstances crush you. To choose joy is to choose hope.
The idea is that the world sees that our circumstances aren’t crushing us and asks us why. Then we can answer with the glorious news of how good our God is and the hope that we have. When we go out in joy, we allow our own spirits to grow and shine the light of Christ at the same time.
When we allow Christ to lead us and guide our steps and our hearts, we find peace. There is peace in our relationship with God. This does not mean that anxiety or fear ceases to exist though. The world is still corrupt, and still seeks to squeeze us into it’s mold. Yet, when we cling to God, trust him follow his plan in obedience, we will find his peace (Isaiah 32:17).
“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7
Those who truly have the peace of God, will stop needing answers for everything, will stop worrying about everything going on in the world and will simply trust in God and what is to come with hope. When we seek God’s heart, we find peace, an incomprehensible peace that will guide us through this messy life and all the hard places we will face.
Thanks be to God!!
So, lets
"go out with joy and be led forth with peace."
No comments:
Post a Comment