Clapping Trees

Read Isaiah 55
 
Isaiah 55:12-13 You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. 13 Instead of the thornbush will grow the pine tree, and instead of briers the myrtle will grow. This will be for the Lord’s renown, for an everlasting sign, which will not be destroyed.”
 
ONE of the gospel’s powerful verses teaching God’s sovereignty is Jesus’ words at his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Amid the crowd’s cry, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord.” (Luke 19:38) The Pharisees fear Rome’s rebuke. They exhorted Jesus to silence the praise. “I tell you,” Jesus replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” (Luke 19:40)
   The LORD’s authority moves all things, even our stony hearts. In his salvation Word, we will experience a peace of mind and heart because we know we have passed from death to life (1 John 3:14) through Jesus Christ. What joy to know we are saved into heaven! Shout it to the world in your faith walk each day. Be noisy for Jesus even if it brings rebuke from the world.
   Then consider that salvation does even more than transform our souls. Salvation redeems the world. The trees clapping, pine trees replacing thornbushes, myrtle trees growing remind us of God’s vision to restore Eden. Remember, a new heaven and a new earth will come one day. This is personal and world redemption. Revelation 22:2 On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.
   How great and wondrous it will be when all creation cannot keep quiet about Jesus. Psalms 47:1 Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy. And the heavens will declare God’s authority: Mark 13:24-25 “But in those days, following that distress, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; 25 the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.”
   The universe, the nations, the mountains, the trees and the church will shout praise to the LORD God who has redeemed sin and rebuilt the broken. What joy comes to God and heaven when the lost are found: Luke 15:9-10 And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ 10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
   God initiates and completes all things on his own time, purpose and power. Do not consider yourself worthy of Jesus’ salvation, but rejoice God has chosen you to be his. Do not be arrogant, either, that your sins or the sins of your culture are too much for God. Do you think God can move mountains, but he can’t move hearts?  
   Open your mouth in praise. Declare the wondrous promises God has given to you and fulfilled in you.