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Read: Isaiah 65:17-25
“See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more. Isaiah 65:17-19
You Are God’s Joy!
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Imagine this: your team is losing badly. Nothing’s going right. You feel like giving up.
That’s kind of what was happening to God’s people, the Israelites. They were having a really tough time. Here’s what was going on:

Many Israelites stopped trusting the real God and started following fake (false) gods.
The biggest, scariest army—called the Assyrians—was on its way to attack.
God sent his prophet Isaiah to tell them bad news: because they turned away from him, they would be captured and taken to a faraway land called Babylon.

Things were not looking good for the Israelites. It must have felt like everything was going wrong.
But here’s where everything changes. God didn’t stop loving them—even when they messed up. He gave Isaiah another message. This time it was good news—a message of hope! He told them about a beautiful future when he would bring his people to a new land. Not an earthly land, but a heavenly one. He told them that in heaven, “the former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind” (Isaiah 65:17).
And then God said something amazing, “I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy” (Isaiah 65:18). Wait—what?! The same people who had disobeyed him would become his joy? That’s the power of God’s love.
The truth is that there was nothing that the Old Testament people could have done to recover from their sin. Even if they said sorry a thousand times or tried super hard to be good, they never could have been good enough to deserve the promised heavenly land. They could never have made themselves into God’s joy.
So God said, “I’ll do it for you.” He promised that he himself will “create” his people (Jerusalem) to be new—to change their hearts and make them his delight.
It is the same with us. We were sinners, and we deserved punishment even worse than being taken to Babylon. We deserved to be separated from God forever. But God decided that he wanted to save us, so he did. He sent Jesus to die in our place, and now we get to look forward to that same heavenly land that God told his people about through Isaiah. We will live in a land where “the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more” (Isaiah 65:19).
No more tears. No more fear. Just joy. Because you are God’s joy.

Prayer:
Dear Jesus, there are so many problems we face in this world. Thank you for giving us a new, perfect home to look forward to. Amen.
The questions below are to help families discuss this devotion. The questions are divided by age group as suggestions, but anyone could reflect on any of the questions as they desire.
Questions for Younger Children

What are some big scary things in your life?
What will happen to those big scary things when you get to heaven?

Questions for Elementary Age Children

What punishment do we deserve because of our sin? Why don’t we get that punishment? (Hint: Jesus!)
If heaven is a place with no crying, no pain, and no fear, what’s the first thing you’d want to do there?

Questions for Middle School and Above

Why is it so important that God says he will make you a delight—not you earning it?
Can you think of someone who’s having a tough time right now? What’s one way you could remind them that God loves them and can give them joy?

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All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

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