Joy and Sorrow

15 “Though you were once despised and hated,
with no one traveling through you,
I will make you beautiful forever,
a joy to all generations.
16 Powerful kings and mighty nations
will satisfy your every need,
as though you were a child
nursing at the breast of a queen.
You will know at last that I, the Lord,
am your Savior and your Redeemer,
the Mighty One of Israel.
17 I will exchange your bronze for gold,
your iron for silver,
your wood for bronze,
and your stones for iron.
I will make peace your leader
and righteousness your ruler.
18 Violence will disappear from your land;
the desolation and destruction of war will end.
Salvation will surround you like city walls,
and praise will be on the lips of all who enter there.

19 “No longer will you need the sun to shine by day,
nor the moon to give its light by night,
for the Lord your God will be your everlasting light,
and your God will be your glory.
20 Your sun will never set;
your moon will not go down.
For the Lord will be your everlasting light.
Your days of mourning will come to an end.
21 All your people will be righteous.
They will possess their land forever,
for I will plant them there with my own hands
in order to bring myself glory.
22 The smallest family will become a thousand people,
and the tiniest group will become a mighty nation.
At the right time, I, the Lord, will make it happen.”

While driving to work one wintry morning, I crossed a highway overpass. The sun had been up just long enough to melt most of the frost on the roads. But on the overpass, there was a thin layer of ice—very real, but invisible to the eye. My car spun out on the ice and whipped around three times on an otherwise busy highway. I was untouched. I sat at the side of the road and dissolved with tears that mixed fear and joy.

Our emotions are often mixed, aren’t they? In this broken world, storm clouds of fear and sorrow often intersperse with the sunlight of joy.

We often use trite sayings to prepare us for waves of sorrow that can spill over into our lives. “These things come in threes,” I’ve heard people say. Or, “things are going so well that it seems something bad must be about to happen.” We try to trick ourselves into thinking we can absorb the shocks of life. But we don’t have the power to create joy or endure sorrow in our own strength.

Isaiah tells us that God is at work doing a remarkable thing in which our sorrow will come to an end. Joy will take the place of sorrow completely when God’s work is finished.

In anticipation of that day, we live with sorrow—in hope. And we live with joy—in trust.

Lord, we would like to be in charge of our joys and sorrows. Give us hope for the day when you will replace all our sorrows with joy. May we trust you always. Amen.