Sadness to Joy
Sadness to Joy
In all the world and in all of life (including yours), what kinds of things do you think would make God smile? And now consider what things in all the world and in all of life (including yours) would bring sadness to God? Those are hard things to reflect on, aren’t they?
Here are more sobering words from the Bible:
“He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:3-6
Do these words weigh as heavy on you as they do on me? Why did He do this? What motivated Him? Why did He feel like He had to do this?
In all the world and in all of life (including yours), what kinds of things do you think would make God smile? And now consider what things in all the world and in all of life (including yours) would bring sadness to God? Those are hard things to reflect on, aren’t they?
Here are more sobering words from the Bible:
“He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:3-6
Do these words weigh as heavy on you as they do on me? Why did He do this? What motivated Him? Why did He feel like He had to do this?
We sometimes get very busy in life (maybe all the time?). In our rush we can lose sight of the big picture, be distracted by the details, and let negativity and defeat creep in. This may cause us to strike out at others, or it may cause us to hold bad feelings about ourselves. Neither is good. Fortunately, God is way ahead of us. The above passage from Isaiah describes the great lengths God, through Christ, went through out of His deep love for us and because of our great need.
We are in need; He provided the solution. Sometimes we need to just sit quietly and consider and appreciate the great love of God that He poured out on us to restore our broken relationship with Him. There is a great traditional hymn that helps us focus on, though difficult to comprehend, the fullness of what God has done for us:
O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus!
O the deep, deep love of Jesus!
Vast, unmeasured, boundless, free,
rolling as a mighty ocean
in its fullness over me.
Underneath me, all around me,
is the current of thy love;
leading onward, leading homeward,
to thy glorious rest above.
May God give you peace as you celebrate what He has done for you!
O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus!
O the deep, deep love of Jesus!
Vast, unmeasured, boundless, free,
rolling as a mighty ocean
in its fullness over me.
Underneath me, all around me,
is the current of thy love;
leading onward, leading homeward,
to thy glorious rest above.
May God give you peace as you celebrate what He has done for you!
4832 Ponderings:
- How does this great truth impact you?
- How can this great truth influence your relationships with others?
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