Shout for Joy
“Shout for joy, O barren one, you who have borne no child; Break forth into joyful shouting and cray aloud, you who have not travailed; for the sons of the desolate one will be more numerous than the sons of the married woman, says the Lord.
Enlarge the place of your tent; stretch out the curtains of you dwellings, spare not; lengthen your cords and strengthen your pegs. For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left. And your descendants will possess nations and will resettle the desolate cities.” Isaiah 54:1-3
Are things not going the way you would like them? Has someone made you angry? Have your dreams been trampled? Has some trial knocked on the door of your life? Let me encourage you to “Shout for joy!” When it comes to suffering, disappointments, and shattered dreams it’s easy to withdraw into our own world and seek from others what they cannot give. There comes a time in our life when we learn to trust God and draw our life from Him.
Dealing with suffering or disappointment we need to understand this world is not our final home. Jesus has promised to wipe away every tear. One day the Lord will make things right. It’s not some hopeful thinking but is more real than this life we live. We put so much focus on “this life”. Yet this life has no guarantees. Jesus told the disciples not to let their hearts be troubled. He told them He was going ahead of them to prepare a place for them. I believe that place He has gone to prepare is indescribable. Jesus will keep his promise.
Becoming transformed in times of trouble. Storms will come and will shake our worlds. Jesus said in this life you will have trouble. In the book of James he writes to us to consider it joy when you face trials of many kinds. Why? Because it’s in those times that our faith is tested and the testing develops perseverance. Peter writes, “though for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trails, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” There are many trials that can knock on your door. Yet in that time your faith in Him will be revealed and will grow. Your faith will become pure. Paul tells us in Romans that as followers of Jesus we can know that everything is used by God and is working for our good.
We learn to trust the Father’s love. Christianity becomes real in trials. It’s really not about some ritual. It’s not about church attendance, how involved in some program we are. It’s about discovering our Father who loves us so much. I’ve been through a few storms in my life. Some of them have been very difficult. Yet now I’m starting to recognize when we “walk through the valley of the shadow of death” we really do not have to fear any evil. The reason is because He is with me. My favorite Psalm is Psalm 139. The Psalmist is says, “If I say, ‘Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, and the light around me will be night, even the darkness is not dark to You, and the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You.” Our dark moments are not dark to Him. The Lord also is not indifferent in our dark moment. He is right there with us and gently leading us all the way. Isaiah even goes on to say that he bore our griefs and carried our sorrows.
As difficult as it may seem we can shout for joy in our distress. We can enlarge our tents for more of Him. We do this not because we are great or to display our great faith. We do this because He is great and we open up our lives for more of Him. He is good. He can be trusted. His is my life. He is your life. Do not fear.