A Season of Joy

[Read Isaiah 55:12-13]

For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace…

I choose joy. To choose joy is to believe beyond what is seen and to claim a deeper inspired happiness. Joy is a condition of the heart. It defies reason. It is not dependent on things going your desired way. Joy cannot be contained. It should NOT be contained. It gives peace and motivates action.

I am drawn to the action words in this scripture. With joy, “you will go out… be led with peace.” You will move forward not even sure where it leads, but confident, at peace and secure with the One who leads you. To move, guided by the Lord, is the only way to go forward into the unknown with peace and joy.

The action words continue with the impossible statement that the secure mountains and hills will break forth from their firm foundations into shouts of joy!! The very trees will clap their hands! All creation is exuberant with the joy of the Lord! This is the kind of joy that Christ brings to us. It is illogical, ridiculous, absurd, hilarious, and abundant!

The abundant joy of the Lord cannot be contained. It should NOT be contained. It is meant to spread faster than any virus. It is to shine bright through the darkness night. It is beyond all reason. It is a precious gift that cannot be kept to one’s self. It is the very irresistible essence of God. May each of us extend this joy to each other and to the world. 

Deacon Donna Van Ramshorst
Bay View Lutheran – Sturgeon Bay 


   

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