Actual Joy
Those who have been ransomed by the Lord will return.
They will enter Jerusalem singing, crowned with everlasting joy.
Sorrow and mourning will disappear, and they will be filled with joy and gladness.
Isaiah 35:10, NLT
Joy is not altogether different from happiness. Joy is deeper than happiness. Joy is more intense and more lasting. Joy for the follower of Jesus is connected to Jesus. (see John 15:10-12) His joy in us, our joy complete in Him. On the most practical level, this means that our joy cannot be ruined or stolen. Why? Because our connection to Jesus is based on God’s unwavering commitment to us as His children. His commitment is beyond our understanding. Nothing on earth or in heaven can break the bond of love which has been given to us in Jesus. (see Romans 8:35-39) Joy is ours because Jesus is ours, now and forever. The implication is this: our joy is not fickle. It isn’t a sometimes possession of a privileged few super saints. Rather, it is the present possession of everyday people who’ve experienced the rescue of Jesus. And while our experience of Jesus’ joy varies, it is ultimately joy that will win out. Sorrow and mourning are short lived in the experience of the sons and daughters of God. They are the stuff of earth’s little while. Meanwhile joy is everlasting. Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase of the final thought in Isaiah 35:10 goes like this, “Welcomed home with gifts of joy and gladness as all sorrows and sighs scurry into the night.” What contrast to our current experience! Here we get glimpses of joy. We have moments when it floods our lives. In the final and forever way of things, it is sorrow and sighing which will be the distant memories of a life that once was. For now, joy is something we must choose. Rejoice is a command. And it isn’t hard for us to obey it, if we focus on the life we have in Jesus. We cannot help but be joy-filled when we consider seriously what it means that we have been rescued. That we’ve been loved unconditionally. That we have God with us. Sad and hard and sigh producing is this earthly existence. But, Jesus has rescued us in this life and for all eternity. Joy comes to us and keeps coming as we dwell on that unalterable fact. The most fitting way I can think to bring this home is to close with Isaiah 35:3-4:
With this news, strengthen those who have tired hands,
and encourage those who have weak knees.
Say to those with fearful hearts,
“Be strong, and do not fear,
for your God is coming to destroy your enemies.
He is coming to save you.” (NLT)
Joy to the world, the Lord has come! Joy to the weary and weak kneed. Joy to the anxious heart. Your God will save you. He will come again to you. Sorrow and sighing are almost gone, joy is just now breaking the horizon. Rejoice O my soul, rejoice!