Sharnita Gates reflects on Isaiah 9:3 to show how God's promise of joy is a lasting harvest of contentment and peace, not something temporary. She urges listeners to seek God's restoration and forgive others as a way to multiply joy, especially during Lenten repentance.
Blessings everyone and welcome to day 20 of the Lent devotional. Today we're going to be multiplying your joy. Ah, I love the joy, joy in the Lord, joy to the world. So the word is going to be coming from Isaiah 9, verse 3. You have enlarged the nation And increase their joy. They rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as men rejoice when dividing the plunder. Now we're going to dive into it as we multiply your joy. Have you ever suffered a great loss and felt all hope was gone? Yes. Um, one of the things that we said, just being honest, honest. Have you ever suffered a great loss and felt all hope was gone? Yes. The devastation of losing something precious and not knowing how you could ever recover from the loss. Maybe you felt it would be impossible to replace the things or to even be restored. This is how the children of Israel and Judah felt. They were destroyed, but God promised to restore them. He was going to restore and increase them so much that they would celebrate and rejoice over the abundance that they received. The promise was to a people who suffered great loss of land, loved ones, humiliation, and deportation to a foreign land. The people were walking in darkness. They were oppressed by their captors, and their future was one of despair. Isaiah gave a word of hope to the people by sharing what God promised. God said he would increase the nations with joy, restoration of health, and a blessing that they would not have room to receive all that he will provide. Isaiah prophesied that God would bring joy to them, and it would not be a temporary fix. It will be lasting joy. The joy will be a harvest of contentment, delight, and peace. God makes this same promise to us today. We can also experience this increase of joy no matter what our circumstances are. God will restore us when we ask for help, for his help, and have the desire to live For him. As we think of the Lenten season, a time of repentance and turning ourselves back to God, we can experience the joy that no one else can give, a joy that will last forever. So I'm just thanking God for that joy that will not just last for a day, but we can have joy in the Lord forever. And so I'm just giving God the glory that he is our joy, that he provides us joy, and that he always— he also makes a promise to give us joy no matter what we go through. So the joy will be a harvest of contentment, of delight and peace. So Father God, give us a heart that can forgive As you forgive. Give us a heart that will love as you love. In this season, we want to be restored by you. Help us to live our lives connected to you. Let our desires be your desires for us. Give us the joy that only you can give, that will last forevermore. In Jesus' name, amen. One of the things that I learned this past weekend was that If you forgive others, it can change them. So you can bring joy. Just forgive. And God gives us a heart that can forgive. So just forgive and multiply your joy and trust in God that he will multiply your joy because it is his promise no matter what we go through. So thank you guys for joining day 20, halfway through day 20 of this Lenten devotional. You guys have a blessed and joyful day.
