The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad;
the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus;
it shall blossom abundantly
and rejoice with joy and singing.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.
They shall see the glory of the Lord,
the majesty of our God.
Strengthen the weak hands,
and make firm the feeble knees.
Say to those who have an anxious heart,
“Be strong; fear not!
Behold, your God
will come with vengeance,
with the recompense of God.
He will come and save you.”
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
then shall the lame man leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.
For waters break forth in the wilderness,
and streams in the desert;
the burning sand shall become a pool,
and the thirsty ground springs of water;
in the haunt of jackals, where they lie down,
the grass shall become reeds and rushes.
And a highway shall be there,
and it shall be called the Way of Holiness;
the unclean shall not pass over it.
It shall belong to those who walk on the way;
even if they are fools, they shall not go astray.
No lion shall be there,
nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it;
they shall not be found there,
but the redeemed shall walk there.
And the ransomed of the Lord shall return
and come to Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
they shall obtain gladness and joy,
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. ~ Isaiah 35:1-10
In this life, we have tribulation—Jesus told us that would be the case, and just about everyone can attest to it in their own life. But the day will come when we will have everlasting joy with no more sorrow. Jesus will come again with vengeance to judge the world, and He will bring his recompense with Him. Those who love and accept Him as their Lord and Savior will spend eternity in joy with the Lord; those who rejected Jesus will go to everlasting punishment. That should motivate us to do all we can to lead those we love to Christ. If we want to spend forever with them, they must believe. If they don’t know Jesus, we must tell them.
Lord God, You are a just and righteous God, and You will reward those who love You and punish those who reject You. Show me who needs to know You, give me the words to say, and touch their hearts. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.