Today's Readings: Isaiah 45:6–25; Psalm 146; Luke 7:18–23
A few months ago, two of our three sons got to attend a Jr. High retreat called Highpoint. As the weekend approached, anticipation was palpable in our home! They were bursting to go – COVID hadn’t taken this weekend of fun as it had so many other things in the past year! A break from mom and dad, challenge cards to stir their competitive sides, a nighttime hike with no flashlights, lessons taught under the stars, sleepless nights of giggling with friends, and candy/pop beyond their normal stifled limits were all within reach! Their joy could not be contained! Clear exhaustion and a need for some sugar detox would shortly follow that weekend but for two twelve-year-old boys, it was totally worth it!
It would be easy to chalk their joy, surrounding Highpoint, up to youthful exuberance or possibly even misplaced delight and both would be partially accurate. Yet as I read our texts for today I find myself picturing that level of excitement and joy as the natural response to what we are reading. A joy that is so secure and unwavering in the face of discomfort, suffering, and unknown circumstances that it causes us to be unashamed in our praise to the Lord. A joy that finds it roots in the truth we read in Isaiah 45, as it echoes out over and over again, “I am the LORD, and there is no other!” No world leader, no earthly relationship, nor the silent gods of wealth, power and physical comfort are able to compare to YHWH (Yahweh)! They are all limited and finite thus can only offer us temporary and circumstantial joy. Not so with YHWH! He is the Maker and Sustainer of heaven and earth and everything in them! Where sin and death once ruled, showers of righteousness and salvation eternally reign in Christ! His life, death, burial and resurrection, proving not only his love for those made in his very image but the Sovereignty that is his alone. In Him, prisoners are freed, the blind receive sight, the oppressed are raised, the righteous loved, the fatherless and widow cared for, the dead raised to new life and justice is executed perfectly. Before this King, every knee will bow! Today, we are invited to praise Jesus Christ, our LORD and our Redeemer who reigns forever! Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah!
