"If you pour yourself out for the hungry
and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
then shall your light rise in the darkness
and your gloom be as the noonday.
And the LORD will guide you continually
and satisfy your desire in scorched places
and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water,
whose waters do not fail."
-Isaiah 58:10-11
This issue was brought to my attention by a friend who texts me often with an honest struggle to find joy in God. I'm writing about this issue because I've been finding out how many Christians struggle with it (including myself). Indeed, we are commanded in Psalm 37:4 to "Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart." So why is it that so many of us struggle to find joy in the LORD?
There is an emphasis stemming from American culture creeping into the church toward individualism or independence. We wrongly believe our Christian lives are most important and most effective when practiced in private. Certainly, there is an aspect of our walk with God that should be done in private (Matthew 6:6). However, if we believe that we will find our full joy in God in private, then we are woefully mistaken. We worship on Sundays as a gathered body because it delights God and it grows our joy in Him. We fellowship with the redeemed because our unity "makes our joy complete" (Philippians 2:2). Trying to go at it alone as an independent Christian is by definition an oxymoron that is dangerous to our faith. We must fellowship with the body, but Isaiah also takes us one step further.
Our joy is also fostered in sharing the love of Christ with those in need. Isaiah describes our responsibility as "pouring yourself out for the hungry and satisfying the desire of the afflicted." That sounds like hard work. That sounds like it would require our time and money, and a lot of it. It could be dangerous and we could be taken advantage of. Certainly this is not something that would make us happy. It will only add more stress to our lives and darken our days. But God through Isaiah says otherwise! When you pour yourself out to those in need, without stipulations, conditions, requirements, hesitations, or inhibitions, "your gloom will be as the noonday"!
Are you depressed? Are you struggling to find joy in God? Are you trapped in trying to find joy in worldly pleasures? Are you going through a tough time? Are you in a "scorched place"? Serve! Share! And feel the joy of God satisfy your desires and strengthen your bones. Do NOT wait for joy to arrive in your private worship before you pour yourself out to others. Pour yourself out because of the love and grace you have already received, and joy will arrive in abundance! Go ahead, try it. I dare you.
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