Light em' up!

Isaiah 24:11
There is a cry for wine in the streets, all joy is darkened, the mirth of the land is gone.

It’s not every day that encouragement can be found in a very discouraging scripture, but I hope to bring it to you today. This verse is straight out of chapter 24 of Isaiah, a chapter that has been labeled in my Bible (NKJV) “Impending Judgement on the Earth”. Before I ever got to verse one I was already thinking about the depressing nature of this passage. As I read through, however, something happened: the more I read about God’s judgement, the more Jesus was revealed to me.

If you haven’t read a paper or watched the news lately, the world is in disarray. Countries are falling apart; there’s an economic global crisis; disease and famine are killing people. Earthquakes, devastating floods, severe storms, and drought are plaguing our world. Just like this verse says “all joy is darkened, the mirth (laughter, happiness) of the land is gone.” Gone is a strong word. I read that word and wondered: how do we get it back?

Fortunately, the answer to my question is found at the beginning of the verse. It’s in the wine; more specifically, it’s found in Jesus Christ. Christ told us that He is the light of the world (John 8:12) and that when we follow Him, we have that light with us. When we make it our goal to bring Jesus Christ (not rules, regulations, principles, or to-do lists) to the world, we have the ability to bring back joy. Through the preaching of Christ and His infinite grace, we have the ability to bring happiness back to the land. Christ empowered us, He commanded us, to bring the gospel to the world (Matthew 28:19).

Friends, there is a cry for wine in the streets today. It’s not a cry for physical wine, but for spiritual wine. The people are crying for salvation; they are crying for healing. Their cry is for redemption, for light, for joy, for peace, for happiness; their cry is for Jesus Christ. We possess the Light within our hearts; it’s time for us to start shining. Go, light em’ up!