I've Got the JOY!!

March 23, 2026

Isaiah 58:11

I will always show you where to go. I’ll give you a full life in the emptiest of places – firm muscles, strong bones. You’ll be like a well-watered garden, a gurgling spring that never runs dry.

Lent invites us to slow down long enough to notice what truly fills us and what quietly drains us. Isaiah 58 speaks directly into this season: when we chase our own ambitions, our own definitions of success, or our own busy agendas, we end up exhausted and spiritually empty. We cut ourselves off from the deeper joy God longs to give.

God gently reminds us in Isaiah 55:8–9 that “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways.” This is not a scolding, it is an invitation. God is saying, “There is another way to live. A freer way. A way that leads to joy.”

Real joy is not found in planning and striving, but in surrender. Joy grows when we trust the Spirit’s leading more than our own plans. It grows and blooms when we release our focus on outcomes and entrust our lives to the One who knows us better than we know ourselves. This is the God who leads us beside still waters, who makes us lie down in green pastures, who restores our souls when we have worn ourselves thin.

And here is the astonishing grace of God: even when we wander, even when we follow our own impulses, even when we make choices that lead us into "dry and weary places", God does not abandon us. God sustains us. God heals what feels broken. God rebuilds what we thought was beyond repair.

Listen again to God’s promise:

“I will always show you where to go. I’ll give you a full life in the emptiest of places, firm muscles, strong bones. You’ll be like a well-watered garden, a gurgling spring that never runs dry.”

This is the life God desires for us, not a life of frantic chasing, but a life rooted in divine joy. No wonder Nehemiah declares, “The joy of the Lord is your strength.” God’s joy is not fragile. It is not dependent on circumstances. It is a strength that steadies us, renews us, and carries us through every season, including this Lenten journey.

So as we walk through Lent, may we release the “chasing after the wind” and return to the One who gives life that is truly life. May we rediscover the joy that strengthens us from the inside out.

LET'S PRAY

God of all wisdom and gentleness, teach us what matters most to You. Loosen our grip on the things that drain us, and free us from the restless chasing that leaves our souls weary.

Fill us instead with Your presence. Lead us into the “full life” You promise, a life where Your joy becomes our strength, our grounding, our renewal, our song.

Amen.