166. Everlasting Joy
Isaiah 61:7 For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them.
Better days are coming: double portions of rejoicing. Joy replaces shame and confusion; indeed, joy replaces everything negative about life on earth. This makes sense because sin in removed forever, forgiven and taken away, never to inflict pain, sadness, suffering and troubles on believers. We can’t quite imagine life with unmixed and unlimited joy. Pure and boundless joy is unimaginable for we never experience it quite that way. There will be no snake in paradise, no sin crouching at the door, no thorns and thistles in the garden, and no more death, weakness, sickness, or handicap. That kind of joy will have to wait until the Second Coming of Christ and the ushering In of the new heaven and new earth.
And we cannot comprehend everlasting joy, joy that never ends, boundless joy that goes on forever. Everything in life has a season. Every joyful event ends. The party is over. It’s always back to the grind again. Sadness also comes to an end and joy returns. Day follows night. “Joy comes in the morning.” But just as generally as sadness passes and joy returns, so joyous times end and sadness returns. However, the endless joy of the Lord just goes on and on and the down times never come back in again. The Feast goes on and on without getting fat, drunk, bloated, hung over, bored, tired, or exhausted. This everlasting joy never diminishes either; it is always fullness of joy, always perfectly satisfying. There will never be hunger or thirst, poverty or want, boredom or stress.
The eternal joy that will be ours forever in heaven, however, is also promised to us here on earth in the midst of pain and suffering, sadness and depression. We may reach out and take hold of the joy of the Lord and enter heaven on earth: when we repent and believe the Gospel everlasting joy fills the heart. The joy of the Lord is our present strength, and the anticipatory joy of heaven lifts the spirit to the heavenly joy. When the enemies are gone only the Lord and the joy of the Lord is left. Everlasting joy shall be unto them.