Freedom House Church and Healing Centre

Groan or clap – it’s up to us!

For you shall go out with joy and be led out with peace; The mountains and the hills shall break forth into singing before you, 

and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. (Isaiah 55:12)

Hello Saints,

The colors this year are spectacular. I intentionally take the “back roads” to get to where I am going so I can see beautiful landscapes, with grey-blue skylines ablaze in brilliant oranges, yellows, and reds, carpeted by dried corn fields and freshly sprouted winter grain fields. A kaleidoscope of God’s glorious creation is a welcoming and distracting site to the state of the world we live in. A walk in the forest behind my house yields an extraordinary site as I stroll on the multi-colored trail, laden with millions of leaves, watching the trees drop their foliage, adding to the medley of beauty beneath my feet. All the while, the air is filled with the sound of branches ‘clapping’ as the wind charges through, as if God was supernaturally dropping the colors where He wants to paint the scenery of which I am now a part. What a glorious distraction! What an encouraging site to know that the Creator-designed cycle of the maple tress continues despite every attempt at its destruction. The blue syrup lines are attached to the trees anticipating the spring flow of the sweet nectar that will run at the end of the coming dormant season. Year after year, since the beginning of time, creation has obeyed its Creator and followed the predetermined path He has laid out for it. And God has created all of it so that “men would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him” (Acts 17:27). The Bible is filled with God-given trees, to be used for man’s consumption and livelihood, whether we acknowledge Him or not - Cypress tress for building, Olive and Fig trees for food, light and heating, and even a tree to shade a grumpy prophet. God’s grace and mercy are seen through all of creation – “He makes it rain on the just and unjust.” 

 At the same time, we are told that all of creation is groaning (Rom. 8:19-22). It is decaying; perishing beneath the weight of humanity’s fall (disobedience to the Holy One). The interesting thing to me is that I don’t hear the groans, but I sure see the glory of God on display through it. I can’t think of a verse that commands creation to ‘groan’. Actually, there are lots of verses that command us not to grumble and complain. There are a ton of verses that tell us, rather, to praise God as the rest of creation does:

• Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth; Break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises. (Psalm 98:4 - take a moment and read psalm 98 – we are to partner with creation in praising God)
• Say among the nations, "The LORD reigns; The world also is firmly established, It shall not be moved; He shall judge the peoples righteously."  Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; Let the sea roar, and all its fullness; Let the field be joyful, and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice before the LORD. For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth. He shall judge the world with righteousness, And the peoples with His truth. (Psalm 96:10-13)
• Sing, O heavens, for the LORD has done it! Shout, you lower parts of the earth; Break forth into singing, you mountains, O forest, and every tree in it! For the LORD has redeemed Jacob, And glorified Himself in Israel. (Isaiah 44:23)
• Sing, O heavens! Be joyful, O earth! And break out in singing, O mountains! For the LORD has comforted His people,  and will have mercy on His afflicted. (Isaiah 49:13)

Now think about this: why does creation ‘groan’? It is waiting in ‘eager expectation’ for freedom and deliverance from decay…just as we are (Rom. 8:19-23). But we don’t hear the groaning! The above verses tell all of creation to “praise” for the Judge is coming to restore creation to its former glory. He is bringing redemption, salvation and deliverance. Yet we are to sing like its already here! It’s going to happen! Because God promised it! We sing and clap our hands not for what is, but for what is coming, eagerly waiting for the fullness of the promise of redemption – freedom from the curse and life everlasting. We live in hope as Romans 8 teaches us to do (Read and meditate on Romans 8). We are children of God, heirs of the promises, partakers of eternal life by Holy Spirt – predestined, called, justified and glorified! Oh what great news! News that causes us to clap our hands, sing for joy, and shout unto God a voice of triumph! More than conquerors because of Christ! So I say, let’s join the chorus of songs with all of creation as we focus on what is to come, on those things that are waiting for us up above. If our eyes are on earth, we will be tempted to grumble or groan, but with eyes on our glorious future, we see the beauty of the new creation. If a walk in the forest or a drive in the country can be this beautiful, we can only imagine a future in a new heaven and earth, with our Savior who purchased it all for us!

Blessings!

 "Advancing the Kingdom of God by releasing Spirit-filled followers to serve Jesus in freedom and joy."