“Pay close attention now: I’m creating a new heavens and a new earth. All the earlier troubles, chaos and pain are things fo the past, to be forgotten. Look ahead with joy.” (Isaiah 65:17-18 MSG)
What a verse to read on the fifth anniversary of my mother’s home going! Her passing set a series of events in motion that have marked my past five years with trouble chaos and pain. But today, in the last few minutes before dawn, the Lord says “Look ahead with joy.” This is a holy directive and it’s going to require a supernatural empowering.
If you’ve ever had a ‘rough five years’ you know how the changing of the calendar from December 31 to January 1 doesn’t always alter the circumstances. In fact, for me, each new year since December 2014 I have tried to will a newness with little or no success. Just this week, I dejectedly told my husband “I’m not even going to expect 2020 to be different than the last five years. I’m just going to brace myself for whatever is next.”
And then, this morning, on my darkest day of the year, the Lord awakens me with “Look ahead with joy.”
Here’s the truth: when the world can rob us of joy, we’ve lost something essential. Joy is meant to buoy us between blows, to tug our hearts back up to the surface where we can breathe and re-orientate ourselves.
Too often we forget that joy is a fruit of the Spirit. We try to muster it ourselves but the trouble is the human variety is short-lived and frail in the face of difficult circumstances. Conversely, Spirit-grown joy is steely-strong: produced by Presence, not sunshine and willpower.
Joy is a natural crop that grows prolifically in a Spirit-led life. So as we look out over 2020 our goal should not be self-grown joy or even the far more fleeting happiness, but nearness. My prayer is that 2020 would be marked by Spirit leading. And that as a result, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control would populate our life branches as a result of our proximity to Holy Spirit.
“But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way fruit appears in an orchard – things like affection of others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, and a sense of compassion in the heart, and a basic conviction that holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.” (Galatians 5:22-23 MSG)
So we can look ahead at 20202 with joy because it’s a fruit of the Spirit and we are already planning on living in step with Him in the year to come.
We can also look ahead toward eternity: certain of the second coming and restoration along with it. This is why we celebrate Christmas. It’s not about Santa or presents or even the gathering of family and friends. It’s about remembering Christ’s first coming and stoking our hope for His second coming. This is our greatest source of joy: He’s coming again to collect His people. Whatever the new year holds, we can find solace and even great gladness in looking ahead.
Lord, we look to You as our source of joy. First to the daily leading of Your Holy Spirit and also to Your second coming. Both of these truths give us reason to rejoice. May 2020 be marked by Your nearness. May we no longer be content with an arms-length relationship. Come near. Come close. Come again. Fill us with Your breath and power and purpose. Let spiritual fruit grow heavy on our branches and fill our hearts with the hope of Your soon return. Amen.