“The grapevines waste away, and there is no new wine. All the merrymakers sigh and mourn. The cheerful sound of tambourines is stilled; the happy cries of celebration are heard no more. The melodious chords of the harp are silent. Gone are the joys of wine and song; alcoholic drink turns bitter in the mouth. The city writhes in chaos; every home is locked to keep out intruders. Mobs gather in the streets, crying out for wine. Joy has turned to gloom. Gladness has been banished from the land. The city is left in ruins, its gates battered down.”
Isaiah 24:7-12 NLT
“Joy has turned to gloom”. But the preceding verses seem to indicate that the “joy” that had been lost was largely due to alcoholic beverages. No new wine is produced because the grapevines have wasted away. And without wine, there is no celebration, no “melodious chords of the harp” and the “cheerful sound of tambourines is stilled” (not sure about that one – when has such an instrument sounded cheerful? But then, each to their own). And it looks as though anarchy has become represented by mobs plundering the city, looking for any remaining wine supplies, forcing the inhabitants to keep their doors locked.
But the problem is that sinful and evil behaviour eventually steals away joy. All the celebrations, underpinned by the world’s pleasures, sooner or later, collapse into gloom and doom. Too much wine in the evening leads to a hangover the next day. Pleasure seeking may satisfy briefly, but the effects never last. The world seeks happiness but reaps a harvest of regrets and a lack of joy. Many people around the world spend their lives and resources searching for happiness, only to find nothing that lasts. It is only the joy that comes from a relationship with Jesus that has any lasting effects. You see, there is a huge difference between joy and happiness, as any believer will find. Psalm 16:11, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore”. Jesus said, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:9-11). Full joy? Is this something we pilgrims experience, or is it wishful thinking as the dawn emerges after another sleepless night?
So, we have contrasting pictures, one of the devastated city, with nothing left of any worth, once the hedonistic pleasure seekers have no foundation for their happiness. And the other is the world of joy that is experienced by believers in God, those who have trusted Him for their future and who are totally unfazed by the collapse of the city. Joy is independent of circumstances, and although hardship caused by the world’s problems doesn’t go away, joy remains for God’s children. We pilgrims have found that our joy is a deep, supernatural sense of peace and satisfaction. It comes from God through the Holy Spirit, and unlike normal happiness, which depends on good life events, spiritual joy stays strong even during hard times and suffering. Joy is a manifestation of the Holy Spirit’s fruit, as we read in Galatians 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law”. We cannot manufacture joy on our own because the joy that is rooted in God can only come from Him.
So, dear fellow pilgrims, are we full of joy this morning? Or are we struggling with our circumstances, emotionally drained and tired of battling life’s challenges? At such a time, we fellowship with those imprisoned in a foreign land for their faith, or wondering where their next meal will come from in a land of devastation like our city in today’s verses. At such a time as this, we get down on our knees and call out to God, and we feel His peace flooding into our souls. Philippians 4:7, “Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus”. God knows our difficulties, but He has the answer for each and every one of them, as we stay close to Him. And with His peace, we feel the joy of knowing the Lord start to bubble up inside of us.
Paul wrote, “Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:35, 37-39). As we live our lives connected to Jesus, we can look up and beyond the circumstances that are holding us down. There is a two-line poem that goes, “Two prisoners looking through the bars; one saw mud, but the other saw stars”. We pilgrims are star gazers looking up into Heavenly places, assured of our salvation and because of that, we have within us an inexpressible joy.
A final word from Peter, “You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls” (1 Peter 1:8-9). So, let’s rejoice together today, trusting in God’s love and the “salvation of our souls”.
Dear Heavenly Father. You are the only Source of true joy. The happiness that belongs to the world will never last, and instead, we trust You for Your provision and promises. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 