Lately I’ve been listening to a book called ‘Visions beyond the veil’ by H. A. Baker, Rolland Baker’s grandfather. He describes how a group of Chinese children had some amazing encounters with Jesus. In visions they saw Heaven in great detail and several of them used a particular way to describe Heaven, that really stuck with me. They called Heaven ‘The land of joy’.
For many years I’ve prayed for His Kingdom to come and His will to be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. I even remember teaching kids to pray this way. To help them understand the prayer, we would go over what Heaven is like, and tell them God wants it to be the same here on earth. There’s no sickness in Heaven, so God wants to heal us when we are sick. There is no pain, so He wants to comfort us when we are sad etc. But somehow joy was never really high on that list, though. Heaven is the land of joy. Just as He wants to heal us and comfort us, He also wants us to be filled with His joy. Just like Heaven is filled with His joy.
Joy makes a difference
Joy is a part of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22). Fruit comes out of a tree automatically, when it draws sustenance from the right sources. In the same way the fruit of the Spirit comes out of us automatically, when we draw from Jesus. When we wait on Him, walk with Him and get to know, trust, and believe His word.
The Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom 14:17). When we seek His Kingdom, we carry Heaven with us. The land of joy.
One of my friends was called into a war zone as a missionary, and I remember how she described the mission Jesus gave her. ‘To love and laugh’. She was going to bring love and joy to one of the toughest parts of the world, where terror and fear reigns. To our natural minds this seems crazy, but God’s ways are always higher and His love and joy changes things. In His power my friend loves extravagantly and laughs in the face of danger.
This is a wonderful mission, because joy and laughter changes the atmosphere. Things look a little less grim, and what seemed very important, might not be so after all. It also forces people to choose. Bringing joy and faith in God into a negative, painful or bad situation will show people there’s another way. A better way. And whether they wanted it or not, they are now faced with the choice of holding on to their pain and hurt, or to let it go and choose His way. The way of love and joy.
The Isaiah 61 call
Isaiah 61 describes really well what it means to bring Heaven to earth. Jesus quoted Is. 61 about Himself, when He was back home in Nazareth (Luk. 4:16). They might not have seen Him for who He really was at the time, but He chose to read this passage to them. In doing so, I believe He gave them a chance to understand later.
Just as we are called to follow Jesus, I believe we also have the Isaiah 61 call. Whether we’re in a war zone in a poor country, or in an office building in a wealthy country. To proclaim good news to the poor, bind up the brokenhearted, proclaim freedom for captives, and release from darkness for prisoners. To comfort all who mourn and provide for those who grieve. To bestow a crown of beauty instead of ashes and (my personal favorite at the moment) the oil of joy instead of mourning, a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.
Now more than ever, people need us to step up and bring Heaven to earth in His power. To bring faith, love, and joy into any situation, because we are called and anointed. To draw close to Him so the fruit of the Spirit overflows around us. Especially joy!
