Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! For the Lord has comforted his people, and will have compassion on his suffering ones. – Isaiah 49:13
We continue to celebrate the joy of resurrection. I truly hope you each had a very blessed Easter yesterday, and I want to share a little joy with you today. We are one day closer to the end of this time of separation. It may seem odd to say that, as we do not yet know the exact day, hour, or minute that we will feel as though we can go back to life as usual, however, I know this, each day that passes is one closer to the day when we can gather and celebrate the coming to life again of our nation, our city, and our church.
When Isaiah is writing the words recorded in this chapter, his heart is heavy. He has seen from the Lord the ways in which the people have been disobedient, they plans of destruction that will come to Jerusalem. For him, the signs are in place of the Lord’s wrath at the hands of other nations. However, even though they will be in despair for a while, Isaiah knows that are not without hope. Isaiah talks of a savior, talks of a time of salvation, and talks of the joy of returning home.
We have learned, in this time of social distancing, that we also are not without hope. Each and every day new messages of hope come to us through neighbors, friends, people checking on us, or sending a simple message. We know that though we are apart, God is keeping us together. Yes, we do long for the day when we can gather again, but that does not keep our hearts from singing. Our family very much enjoyed singing the songs of Easter yesterday, and ending the day listening to the song of the gentle rain, are reminder that all things are washed and made new.
God will have compassion on his suffering ones as he has since times of old. Hang in there, we are comforted, we are loved, God is singing over us songs of joy that will inspire our hearts to join the chorus.
Hymn writer Charles Wesley gave us these great words of hope that help us rejoice in the victory:
Rejoice the Lord is King / Your Lord and King adore /Mortals give thanks and sing /
And triumph evermore / Lift up your heart / lift up your voice / rejoice again I say rejoice.
This hymn give us plenty to rejoice about, it tells the story of Jesus our savior being the very truth and love of God, that he purged our sin, reigns on high, his kingdom shall not fail, he rules over earth and heaven, and holds the keys of hell and death. Jesus, the risen, reigning lord is our glorious hope. Therefore we shall sing and rejoice with all creation, because we have the news life promised in his resurrection.
Have a blessed Easter Monday everybody,
Sam