Today
joy is so often thought to be the very opposite of faith, but joy is something
much deeper and much more lasting. Look at Isaiah 9:1-4: Nevertheless,
there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he
humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future, he
will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan— The
people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the
land of deep darkness a light has dawned. You have enlarged the
nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people
rejoice at the harvest, as warriors rejoice when dividing the
plunder. For as in the day of Midian’s defeat, you have
shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the
rod of their oppressor.
Isaiah
gives us three significant things about God in which we can rejoice.
1.
Rejoice That God Lives
2.
Rejoice That God Cares
3.
Rejoice That God's Plan Is Invincible
To be
sensitive to the Holy Spirit must mean that we will be more sensitive to people
and their pain; to be more sensitive to people ought to make us more open to
God and his purposes.
Know
and live the Lord’s joy. Amen?
