you will go out in joy...

Isaiah 55:12 proclaims,

"You will go out in joy
   and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills
   will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field
   will clap their hands."

I love living a life of joy!  I mean, really having joy permeate everything you are.  Joy is an essential and integral part of Christian existence, and more personally, my existence. The thought of "going out in joy" is a wonderful thing!  can you imagine waling out your daily life with absolute joy in your heart.  God shows us the evidence of that type of life: "The mountains and the hills will burst into song before you and the trees of the field will clap their hands".  

Wow! What a proposal!  How I long to live with that much joy in my life.

In the the Gospel of Luke, Jesus is asked by the Pharisees to admonish his followers, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples", they said. This happened as Jesus was riding in to Jerusalem on (what we call) Palm Sunday. But here's where the point of joy comes in. At hearing the Pharisees' request, Jesus simply answered, "If they keep quiet, the stones will cry out"! The joy of knowing and being in the presence of Christ is so great that if no one were to sing his praise, the rocks on the ground would. Those cold, hard, dead, inanimate objects would burst into songs of praise (if we don't).


The Old Testament prophet, Nehemiah is know for his wonderful quote, "The joy of the Lord is my strength." It is so true - No joy, no strength. But it is rarely read in context.  Nehemiah had been walking out faith with the people of Israel for years. They were rebuilding the city and rebuilding their faith in God.  This quote didn't come out of a party or from decadence of prosperity. It came from seeking God and relying on Him when there was nothing else.


As Donna and I have been freed by the Holy Spirit to pursue His awesome plan for us, we are rediscovering joy.  There is, at times, overwhelming joy that springs up like a fresh stream, pouring out from our hearts, generously and joyfully! I smile more, and I am way less stressed out. There have been no mountains or hills bursting into song, nor has there been stones coming to life.  What there has been is a renewing of our spirits and a refreshing of our joy.


I still have no idea where God is taking us. But I do have joy know that it is God who is taking us! I am content to lay back in the river of his will and be swept along as he orders the details and directs my path.


I've got the joy, joy, joy joy, down in my heart. Down in my heart to stay!