Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.
Jeremiah 15: 16
I have been particularly sad lately. With so much sad news about animals and earth issues, my brothers struggles with alcoholism and homelessness, my husband’s Alzheimer’s Disease, some days it is a struggle with some deep depression for me; staying strong escapes me, being positive and not allowing feelings of being overwhelmed overtake me becomes such a huge struggle…. I remind myself of the great oppression of others around the world and try to throw myself in all the more toward being a voice for them, so as not to let despair take me over. Today, I volunteered at Feed My Starving Children packing meals for starving children all over the world. It doesn’t take long to look around and find others in much more need and in deeper despair than what struggles I deal with.
I remind myself that “all creation groans, waiting for the sons and daughters.” I reach up to our Father and ask, “When, Lord, when?” And say, “Come Lord come!….Maranatha come….” And I remind myself to be patient and know that when he does send Yeshua/Jesus, it will be the perfect time.
And I remind myself that the Joy of Elohim/God is our strength. In times like these it is hard to think of being joyous! But I’m not sure what most of us would define joyous as today is what the Psalmist meant entirely, though we do know the incredible power of joyous laughter, for example, to release stress and change our outlook! I think the joy in scripture has more in common with a deep sense of all being well in the end because we know it will be. “Though [we] walk through the valley of the shadow of death, [we] will fear no evil, for you are with [us]; your rod and your staff, they comfort [us].” This joy the world cannot steal from us. Though we cry tears of pain in our own situations and in empathy with others, or feel overwhelmed at times at the great burden it sometimes can be to follow Yeshua/Jesus, we know he is with us, we know he paved the path before us, walking through the valley of the shadow of death himself, carrying all the earth’s brokenness upon his shoulders, bearing the weight of our suffering and our separation from the Father…..not only for us, but for ALL the creation.
So in our sorrows, let’s remember that the joy of the Lord truly is our strength and find it in ourselves to turn our faces toward him. Let’s let him carry the burden and know he walks alongside us every step of the journey that is our lives on this side of eternity.
Looking to that day when we will all stand together before him in peace:
Psalm 98
Sing to the Lord a new song,
for he has done marvelous things;
his right hand and his holy arm
have worked salvation for him.
The Lord has made his salvation known
and revealed his righteousness to the nations.
He has remembered his love
and his faithfulness to Israel;
all the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth,
burst into jubilant song with music;
make music to the Lord with the harp,
with the harp and the sound of singing,
with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn—
shout for joy before the Lord, the King.Let the sea resound, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it.
Let the rivers clap their hands,
let the mountains sing together for joy;
let them sing before the Lord,
for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
and the peoples with equity.Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth,
burst into jubilant song with music;
make music to the Lord with the harp,
with the harp and the sound of singing,
with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn—
shout for joy before the Lord, the King.Let the sea resound, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it.
Let the rivers clap their hands,
let the mountains sing together for joy;
let them sing before the Lord,
for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
and the peoples with equity.
Thank you for reading and following our blog, we pray you are blessed by our work and will share it with others! ~Kathy
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Kathy
Hi Cheryl, thank you for your kind and encouraging message, it really helps me. For this post to bring to mind the sermons of John Wesley for whatever reason is an honor indeed, thank you! I found this online, I do not know if it is a complete collection or not though.
He did have a deep respect for all creatures, he was an early Christian animal welfare activist for certain. I love how you say “all creatures of the sea, land and sky will sing his praises”, yes I can imagine it and it brings tears of joy and longing!! We will witness every knee bowing, every tongue confessing, every creature on earth and in the sea singing praise that Yeshua/Jesus is the Saviour, that day will be like none we have ever known!! And like you say, never again shall we be separated from the presence of our Saviour and the Father by time, space, or any circumstance ever, humans and non-hnumans – oh the joy that will be that day!
That is a great way of describing earthquakes, floods, and other disasters of weather, as earth’s groaning for His return; we can think of anything that does not reflect the nature of Yeshua/Jesus as that groaning, waiting for the sons and daughters to be revealed – thank you for that thought, it relates all that happens for evil to scripture when we think of it this way!
Augustine and Decartes had a lot to do with modern views of non-human animals, sadly, views that they had no feelings, and are animations – nothing is further from the truth. But this is changing, praise Him!
Thanks again for your thoughtful comment, I so appreciate you, Cheryl. Have a blessed and beautiful day! ~ Love in Yeshua, Kathy
Cheryl
Thank you also for links on John Wesley. I’ll enjoy looking at them.
I just watched that amazing sermon on Shalom and our relationship to animals and the earth. What is his name? I’d like to see more of his preaching—does he have a page I can connect to?
Kathy
Greg Boyd. Yes, his sermons about creation are wonderful. I have always thought he wanted to do more with the theology of creation care, but the rest of his church were likely pushing against it (politics are thick here in the world as well as everywhere else…). Here are links to his Church and online sermons, and to the ReKnew.org website, much good material there, too:
https://whchurch.org/watchlisten/search-sermons/
https://reknew.org/
Cheryl
Thank you for your thoughtful blog posts.
Today’s post reminds me of the sermons of John Wesley, and how he spoke of how the earth and all creation groans for Jesus return. From what I’ve read, Reverend Wesley had a deep respect for all living things and their role in Jesus’ return. All creatures of the sea, land and sky will sing his praises! Just imagine it! I can’t wait to witness this! On that day we will be with our beloveds — humans and all creatures great and small, never again to be separated by time, space, or circumstance ever again!
Each time I hear of an earthquake, flood, volcanic eruption, etc., I think of it as earth’s groaning for His return.
I’d like to know if you might have a copy of Wesley’s sermons? They are a blessing, only I can’t seem to find them online anymore.
Kathy
Oh and Cheryl, I want to add, Psalm 98 really is such a hopeful Psalm! I can just imagine this being about that day He returns! When all the ends of the earth see the salvation of God, when the whole creation is singing and shouting, the text says bursts into jubilant song with music! And this passage – how did man miss it?! —
Let the sea resound, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it.
Let the rivers clap their hands,
let the mountains sing together for joy;
let them sing before the Lord,
for he comes to judge the earth.
The world and ALL who live in it!!
We can sing now for his coming to judge the earth – praise Him for his love for us and that he never leaves or forsakes us. (Hebrews 13:5)
Blessings,
Kathy
Cheryl
Kathy,
Thank you for your thoughts and comments. It brings me to tears, as well. I will read this over and over. It really helps, especially during trying times.
Come quickly, Lord Jesus!
Have a blessed day.
Cheryl
Kathy
Much love to you, Cheryl!! We’ll stay in His Word. Write or PM me anytime. <3
Cheryl
Thanks, you too!