“I will rejoice in Jerusalem, And joy in My people; The voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her, Nor the voice of crying” (Isaiah 65:17).
Heavenly Father, we thank You for another day of life! You woke us up this morning in our sound minds! What a privilege. All around us there are people whose hearts are failing them for fear, but “[You] have not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, of love, and of a sound mind.” May we allow our minds to stay on You, that we may receive Your perfect peace. We pray this in the Name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
In our text for today, we find God repeating His plans to rejoice in His City of Peace, Jerusalem; and take joy in His people. That is because, where God is, there is peace!
Let us be reminded, that these verses have a dual application. This has always been God’s plan for His people. While He led the Israelites through the wilderness, in the form of a cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night, He wanted them to rejoice in the blessings He was bestowing upon them, that the surrounding nations, would take notice, and want to also be a part of this people, whose God, was so near to them (Deuteronomy 4:6-7)! And because nothing, or no one, can nullify the plans of God, these plans will be realized, when all of His people, Jews and Gentiles, saved by His amazing grace, are together in the kingdom of heaven!
But until then, heaven can begin here! We read in Psalm 16:11, the following: “You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (emphasis supplied).
That brings you and me into the fulfillment of this promise. While all around us there is fear and pain, and sadness, we, can, by His grace, and in the power that He will supply; with joy and rejoicing in our hearts, go forth and tell others of this God, that is so near to us!
We can let them know that even when we experience pain, and death, and sorrow, we sorrow not as others who have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13), because “we have this hope that burns within our hearts, Hope in the coming of the Lord” (Wayne Hooper)!
Yes, my dear friends, the day is coming, “signs all fortell that the moment is nearing, when He (Jesus) shall return ’tis a promise most cheering, — [even though] we know not the hour. He will come, let us watch and be ready; He will come, hallelujah! hallelujah! He will come in the clouds of His Father’s bright glory — but we know not the hour” (F. E. Belden, emphasis supplied).
The voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her, Nor the voice of crying.” This is God’s promise to us. Let us keep this promise in our hearts and may it be our strength and stay in the time of sorrow!
“And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4, emphasis supplied).