Psalm 97:11-12 “Light is sown for the righteous,
And gladness for the upright in heart.
Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous,
And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.”
Is life difficult? Have you found the road to be wearisome and your steps growing heavier each day?
Lift up your head weary traveler and know the strength of the Lord. Walking in joy is the antidote to the sorrows of this world. It is not a joy that is contrived or generic, but an authentic, pure, revelation that descends from the throne of the living God to all who call upon His name.
You need only reach out and receive it. The Lord gives it freely and with abundance.
I want to share with you His promises. The immutable God who never changes is consistent in His love for His people.
Isaiah 60:1-3 “Arise, shine;
For your light has come!
And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.
For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,
And deep darkness the people;
But the Lord will arise over you,
And His glory will be seen upon you.
The Gentiles shall come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising.”
Have you experienced the darkness and felt trapped by the despair? The enemy will try to shroud your outlook and cause your perspective to be limited by the pain and suffering that only this world can give.
But you were not made for this…you have been raised to new life.
Let us once again ascend to the mountain of the Lord and see His goodness, let hope arise, and the joy of the Lord will carry us until that day.
Victory over the Enemy
For those who have endured relentless attacks from the enemy, you may be wounded and weary from the fight, but the battle is already won. Your victory is sure for the Lord your God goes before you; it is by His strength you will endure.
Malachi 4:1-3 “For behold, the day is coming,
Burning like an oven,
And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble.
And the day which is coming shall burn them up,”
Says the Lord of hosts,
“That will leave them neither root nor branch.
But to you who fear My name
The Sun of Righteousness shall arise
With healing in His wings;
And you shall go out
And grow fat like stall-fed calves.
You shall trample the wicked,
For they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet
On the day that I do this,”
Says the Lord of hosts.”
The wounds will be healed. The weight of this world will be lifted. The joy that seems to be in short supply will be experienced in full, and you will grow fat in the fullness of God’s bounty.
You are not defeated, no, the Lord will make sure of that. You may feel like you can’t take another step but that is good, for your strength is no longer your own. He will sustain you.
The Lord your Strength
The Creator of the ends of the Earth is the Lord your sustainer. He will lift you up, He will give you the power to carry on, and He will redeem you from the pit of sorrow that leads to the mountain of His holiness.
It is upon the mountain where you will find rest.
Isaiah 2:3 “Many people shall come and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.”
The righteous know His ways, they walk according to the Moral law knowing that it leads them in fellowship with the Law Giver. Righteousness is revealed in obedience and within that fellowship is fullness of joy. There is freedom in being found faithful. Sin binds and weaves its heavy chain upon the shoulders of the oppressed.
The people of God are not meant to bear those chains. Lift up your countenance, let your gaze be fixed upon the heavens and see the hope of your salvation.
Isaiah 45:8 “Rain down, you heavens, from above,
And let the skies pour down righteousness;
Let the earth open, let them bring forth salvation,
And let righteousness spring up together.
I, the Lord, have created it.”
The Lord pours forth His love in abundance. Out of the rain comes forth springs of new life. He delights over you, can you hear His song? It echoes through the hills and whispers through the trees, it bubbles forth from the brook and resonates in the heart.
Happy is the one whose joy is in the Lord.
Forever Blessed
There was a beginning to this world, and there will be an end. The suffering we endure today will be turned to joy in the morning.
Isaiah 32:17 “The work of righteousness will be peace, And the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever.”
The troubles of this world will only be a faint and distant thought, left to the annals of a once sinful and corrupt time.
Today there is loss, but what is gained far exceeds the sorrow. Today brings reminders of scars and wounds suffered in the fight, tomorrow brings healing, restoration, and wholeness.
Psalm 30:4-5 “Sing praise to the Lord, you saints of His,
And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.
For His anger is but for a moment,
His favor is for life;
Weeping may endure for a night,
But joy comes in the morning.”
Do you rest in Christ alone?
Have you allowed the cares of this world to become curtains that have drawn out the light?
The hope of every believer that is experienced now in part will be understood later in full. Press on, don’t give up, run the race with diligence knowing the joy that has been prepared for you.
Psalm 5:11 “But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; Let those also who love Your name Be joyful in You.”
The immutable God does not change like the shifting shadow, His love for you is the same as it was before the dawn of Creation. He has called you and so He will complete the work that He began.
Trust Him through the sorrow, knowing His glory will see you through.
U.T. 