The created world itself can hardly wait for what’s coming next. Everything in creation is being more or less held back. God reins it in until both creation and all the creatures are ready and can be released at the same moment into the glorious times ahead. Meanwhile, the joyful anticipation deepens. All around us we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs.
Romans 8:19-22 MSG
Creation waits and will rejoice!
Let the heavens be glad, the earth rejoice;
let the vastness of the roaring seas demonstrate his glory.
Praise him for the growing fields, for they display his greatness.
Let the trees of the forest rustle with praise.
For the Lord is coming to judge the earth;
he will judge the nations fairly and with truth!
Psalm 96: 11-13 TLB
Imagine the wilderness whooping for joy,
the desert’s unbridled happiness with its spring flowers.
It will happen!
The deserts will come alive with
new growth budding and blooming,
singing and celebrating with sheer delight.
The glory of Lebanon’s cedars and
the majesty of Carmel and Sharon
will spill over to the deserts.
The glory of the Eternal One will be on full display there,
and they will revel in the majestic splendor of our God.
Isaiah 35:1-2 VOICE
David A. Steen, Ph.D. in Biological Sciences, writes in his devotional, God of Wonders:
Did you have any idea how many biblical passages mention the inanimate creation expressing the emotions of joy, gladness, and jubilation? … If these lines are to be believed, the mindless and insensate surely do sense their Creator and respond with gladness. … We are the blessed ones who actually do have senses that inform our minds so that we can think about what we see, hear, touch, taste, and smell. Thus we have all the reasons to be glad, to be joyful, even jubilant because our God reigns. If the inanimate and insensate are glad and expressive, how much more should we be praising God and rejoicing because He lives?
Isaac Watts captured this theme in his hymn, “Joy to the World,” written to encourage us to celebrate the second coming of our King! We’ve adapted the song for Christmas, making it a celebratory announcement of the birth of our Lord. In the first verses, Watts emphasizes that all nature will sing and repeat the sounding joy!
Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing.Joy to the world, the Savior reigns!
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy.
How much more should we praise our God?
We don’t have to wait for Sunday, Christmas Day, or the second coming of our King. We can praise Him now, for He is Emmanuel, God with us!
How blessed is God! And what a blessing he is!
Ephesians 1:3-6 MSG
He’s the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ,
and takes us to the high places of blessing in him.
Long before he laid down earth’s foundations,
he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love,
to be made whole and holy by his love.
Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family
through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!)
He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish
gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son.
Let’s not let creation out-praise us! Let your JOY ring out!
