Go Out in Joy
December 19, 2022
Isaiah 55:12 - 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.
Chapter 55 in the book of Isaiah is believed to have been addressed to the exiles who were returning from Babylon. I recently read that Isaiah has been considered the “Fifth gospel”, even though it was written a few generations before the people were even taken into exile. God had already revealed to Isaiah the path that the people were on. Their sins had caused them to live in a very pitiful condition, but they didn’t even realize it yet. So God sent Isaiah to tell them that He was not happy with them at all and that they needed to repent in order to be saved.
But God the Father is a God of grace and compassion, so He invited them into His loving kindness. He is restoring them so that they can glorify Him once again and He is blessing His people.
He starts out with “You will go out in joy” and as Christians, we are called to be joyful! It’s not always a natural thing for people to be joyful. But when we understand God’s love and His constant grace, joy becomes easier. When we truly understand God’s grace and seek Him, we will find joy. Being joyful means that you don’t let your circumstances crush you. To choose joy is to choose hope.
The second part of that line is “be led forth in peace”. There is so much peace in truly knowing God. The more you are in the Word, you can’t help but feel quite a bit of peace and calmness in your heart. Starting with Genesis 1:27 when God created us, to Ephesians 4:32 when He forgives us and Ephesians 2:8 when He saves us, to Isaiah 41:10 when He promises to protect us, and Jeremiah 29:11 when He tells us that He has a plan for us, to John 14:3 when He let us know He is coming back one day, to 1 John 4:9-10 when He tells us that He loves us so dearly.
When we have the peace of God, we stop needing answers for everything, we stop having to worry about every little detail and things going on in the world. We simply trust Him and trust what is to come. When we seek His heart, we find peace, a peace that will guide us through this life and all of the trials that we will face. And when we find that peace, the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.