The joy of the Lord is our strength by Ruth Johnson

"You will go out with joy, 
And be led forth with peace; 
The mountains and the hills will break forth into song before you, 
And all the trees of the field will clap their hands.”   Isaiah 55:12


 

At this crossroads I am continuing to ask God, “What are the ancient paths we should walk in? For our land, built on Christianity, I’ve yet to see a prophetic word that believes ‘the good way’ is staying in Europe.  But, when it comes to the path our lives should take, there isn’t a signpost or a clue of which way to go.  Therefore I’m saying as Moses did in Exodus 33:15, “If you Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.” 

The above verses imbedded in song over forty years ago jumped into my head.  In thinking of trees clapping I first thought of Lord of the Rings where the trees uprooted and marched to the battle, and then on to the blind man’s answer after Jesus touched his eyes. “I see people that look like trees walking.” When Jesus touched his eyes again “he saw everything clearly”.  That prompted me to say to the Lord, “I need to see more clearly.”  For me this year began with joy, laughter and Psalm 126 so was this a reminder, or a message?  When I read Isaiah 55 the verses before those of the song were so apt! ”God’s ways are much higher than ours.”  And, “So is My Word that goes out of My mouth; It will not return to Me void, but will accomplish what I desire, and achieve the purposes for which I sent it.” 

In April we sang a worship song with the line, “I am a child of God”.  Its simple truth touched me. Others felt the same.  Several days later that line repeated itself in my head. Finally I spoke it out, each time its impact became deeper and drew from within a weeping at the enormous privilege of being my beloveds, He being mine and knowing His banner over me was love. 

This has led me to believe that the Lord wants us to break out of previous faith levels.  We haven’t recognized the value of the wood in the trees.  Isaiah writes of oaks of His righteousness, and many of us have matured over years of pruning!  Could it be that we have been planted in the forest of His righteousness so we can encourage others to walk on the paths God wants for them, and feed those who pass by with the fruit from our lives?  

What then would be the fruit of my life?  I guess for all of us it is the Lord’s love growing within us, along with lessons learned, experiences gained and the joy that is set before us. As writers’ we are inspired to put that into words be it fiction or non-fiction.  How wonderful to know that Jesus is the “the author and perfecter of our faith”.