Go Through Joy

Isaiah 55:12:

"For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: 

the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you 

into singing, and all the trees of the field

shall clap their hands." 

      Most people go through life feeling as though happiness is a destination. It’s what we strive toward, what we hope to achieve one day. We tell ourselves that when this or that happens, we will be happy only to find out that when one problem is solved, another arises.

However, we must teach that happiness is not a place, but a path. It’s not a destination, but a way. We don’t go to joy; rather, we go through joy.

      In the book of Isaiah we read,"You will go out in joy." The context of the verse is talking about the Jewish people leaving the exile and returning to the Promised Land. The exile is both a literal term which described the physical exile of the Jewish people from the land of Israel and a figurative concept.

      We are all striving to reach our own promised land, where we can be our true selves and live our best lives. The verse in Isaiah teaches us that the way to get from exile to redemption, from our broken lives to our redeemed lives, is through joy. Joy is the key that unlocks all doors.

This idea is so radically different than conventional thinking because it demands that we be joyful, not wait until circumstances line up so that we might feel joy. It implies that it’s possible to feel joy even when our lives are difficult. It requires us to make joy our way of life instead of spending our lives trying to attain it.

      Life can be tough, and God continually challenges us. But God also wants us to be happy, and we can be. Don’t underestimate the power of joy. Living with joy in your heart, enables closeness to God, success, and understanding. Don’t wait to be happy, make up your mind to be happy every day, starting right now.
Amen!

Reading: Is. (55:8-13)

May God Bless You

And Your Family

Minister Robert Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry