Fear Of Missing Out

December 11 2022

Isaiah 35

         Our son Matt is one of the IT guys for the Dover School system. There are four guys who work in the IT department and they have their workload all divided up between them. Matt’s main area that he watches over is the new high school auditorium. I just keep wondering what it must be like to be a twenty-six year old put in charge of a brand new, state-of-the-art, million dollar facility! Yet, he is good at what he does and everybody who uses the auditorium loves to work with him. The only downside for Matt is that he has to work quite a few weekends as this is when a lot of shows are happening. Of course, he does have the option to work less hours during the week if he works on the weekends but what usually happens is that he goes in on Monday morning just like normal. This seems a little odd especially if he has had to work both Saturday and Sunday but what we have learned is that Matt has FOMO, fear of missing out. He goes in on Monday because he doesn’t want to miss out on what’s happening with the rest of the crew that he works with. I guess he doesn’t want to be that guy that doesn’t have a clue as to what’s happening in his office!

         This fear of missing out is one of those, you might say, good fears because it motivates us to get up and get going all so that we can say that we are not the ones who missed out on what’s happening. As we read this thirty-fifth chapter of Isaiah, it becomes obvious as we read through this that Isaiah is describing something that is going to happen. What Isaiah believes is going to happen can be summed up in a word, “joy” and not just any joy, but a joy marked by leaping and singing and shouting. What Isaiah is lavishly describing here is a joy so wonderful that this joy should push away every fear except the fear of missing out on such an extravagant and over the top joy that is headed our way.

         The way that Isaiah describes this joy to us is to take and describe this joy with vibrant and stunning pictures which grab a hold of our emotions. Isaiah begins with the bleakness of the wilderness, the drabness of the dry places, this is the canvas upon which he will splash the many colors of joy for his readers to be enthralled with. These wearisome places, the wilderness, the dry places and the desert, here it is in these very hopeless and dreary haunts, this is where we will witness the power of God for he is the one who can bring gladness to blossom here, it is here in the desert of all places, that we will hear the laughter of joy.

         Isaiah uses the image of the crocus, a tiny flower which pops up on the desert landscape after a rain and Isaiah tells of how this little flower transforms the endless monotony of the death-bound brown of the desert into a rainbow of color. Imagine a sudden storm rolling through the desert floor and with equal suddenness, tiny flowers poking their heads up through the ground, and the amazement of watching life appear where once there had been nothing. And not just life, but life with vibrant colors, of reds, and yellows and purple waves of flowers contrasting the pale dustiness. Isaiah calls us to imagine, to capture this image, of flowers taking over the desert floor and not just a few flowers here and there but flowers breaking forth in abundance. Everywhere you look, for as far as the eye can see, waves upon waves of brilliant color, running rampant in every direction, this is, Isaiah proclaims, the rejoicing of the desert. Can you see the joy that is breaking forth all around you? Isaiah is pleading with his readers, this is a joy that you really don’t want to miss out on! 

This joy that Isaiah speaks of here is the joy found on the far side of judgment. In the thirty-fourth chapter, Isaiah records how God brings the nations into judgment, a year of compensation for the cause of Zion. It is important to remember that judgment must come before the day of joy. The causes of sorrow, the bitter root of unrighteousness, the trust in power and strength that come through death and destruction, all of this must be dealt with, the necessary compensation must be given to those who desire to find their life through the taking of life. The glory of the Lord is his victory over death, over those who try and build their lives upon the sifting sands of taking life for this is the way of the nations, the way of the world.

This glory of the Lord, this Isaiah declares is what will at last be seen. There in the wilderness, in the wasteland and the desert, this is where at last shall be an evident glory.  The splendor and wonder found on the heights of Lebanon, upon the mountainside of Carmel and there in the rich valley of Sharon, the beauty of these landmarks will now be eclipsed by the spectacular display of glory God is bringing forth there in the wild places. There in a place where life seemed bleak there suddenly will appear the glory of God. Can we capture the mystery of what Isaiah is attempting to speak to us here? The glory of God is his ability to bring life, suddenly and with flourish, in places that are normally written off as being dead, lifeless, void of beauty. Where God brings life into the barren places, where the life of God suddenly overpowers us, surprises us, when we discover that death is not the last word, there joy erupts like flowers after a rain.

So, death should no longer be the source of our fear but rather what we should fear is that we would miss out on experiencing this sudden rush of life that God is bringing into those situations where death seems to have the upper hand. The glory of God is life, to bring life there in the midst of places that reek with sorrow, grief and fear. Isaiah promises that the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God, this is what will not be hidden from our eyes but instead we will be overwhelmed by this wondrous work of God. What will prevent us from beholding the glory and majesty of God is our fear. The fear that causes our hands to tremble, the worry that makes our knees to knock, the anxiety that grips our hearts, all of this causes us to focus on our weakness instead of the glory and majesty of God. This is why Isaiah calls to us to get a grip on ourselves. Strengthen those shaking hands, people, come on, get those legs planted firmly on the ground, and really take to heart the warning to be strong; fear not. The only fear that is acceptable when God is present is the fear of missing out on seeing God’s glory, the fear of missing out on seeing glimpses of his majesty. God is coming; are you grounded in this promise? He is coming with vengeance, at last setting the world right, those who rule through the fear of death will at last be dealt with for the God whose glory is a life which cannot be defeated has promised that he will come. God is coming; are you ready to witness the salvation of God? The life which no death can defeat, this glorious life of God is coming, coming to hover over you, protecting you from all that would harm you, why would you be afraid? The fear that overwhelms, the fear that paralyzes, the fear that puts a chokehold on us, this can no longer be our response. No, now when we know that our God is coming, when we know that we will be in the very presence of the God of glory and majesty, now is the time to rejoice with much joy and singing. 

What is it that is keeping you and I from rejoicing? If our eyes cannot see God moving in our midst, if we cannot behold his glory surrounding us on all sides then God promises that he will open up our eyes to see his wonders. If our ears cannot hear God speak to us to be strong, fear not, then God promises that he will open up the ears that have been damaged by anxiety. If our lame legs refuse to jump for joy when God surprises us with the glory of his life, God promises that he will make us able at last to leap like a deer. If the words just won’t come forth from our lips shouting out the wonders and praise to God in exuberant joy, then we have a promise from God that he will set loose our tongues so that we will at last break forth in songs of joy! Whatever holds us back from responding to the glory of God breaking forth right where we are at, God promises us that he will come, and he will save and he will heal us of all that is preventing us from praising him. God knows that our greatest fear must be the fear that we will miss out in the celebration of joy which breaks forth in wild abandon when the glory of God’s death-defying life comes suddenly to us. Here again, Isaiah brings us back to the desert, to the wilderness, to the parched places, the dust filled, death plagued places, here is where the miracle of life from God can be seen. Here in the dry land there will be waters bubbling up, bursting forth, gushing over, gurgling forth, until a stream at last flows there in the desert. There where the sand once burned against ones feet now there will be a pool of cool water, the thirsty ground drinking up the springs which appear suddenly on the scene. We must pause and wonder just what is Isaiah describing with such images of gushing waters and streams forming in the dry ground? I think he is describing more than a literal picture, perhaps he is painting images of life after the judgment of God, after God has sorted out the wickedness and dealt with the unrighteousness, Isaiah wants us to know just what will the world look like then. Isaiah refuses to speak in direct, and obvious terms and instead he chooses to describe this situation as the desert suddenly receiving life-giving water. What Isaiah states here is something very much like what he wrote earlier in his writing where in the thirty-second chapter, Isaiah writes that the land will be nothing but a place of thorns and briers, “…until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is deemed a forest. Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness abide in the fruitful field. And the effect of righteousness will be peace and the result of righteousness, quietness and security forever.” Here, Isaiah portrays the coming of the Holy Spirit as the rain poured out from above, flowing forth, transforming the wilderness into a fruitful field, a field of such abundant life that the field grows into a dense woodland. Yet, what must be seen is that the fruit that is suddenly found there in that wild place is justice, this is the result of the Spirit’s flowing forth from heaven unto the earth which longed for the sweetness of the arrival of the presence and power of God. From this sudden coming of justice sprouted righteousness out of the muddy ground. This righteousness caused peace to burst forth and out of this peace flowered the glory of quietness and security for those who live in the wild places.

It is the Spirit of God, the God of closeness and blessing, this is the God who comes as a cloudburst, gushing forth upon us the goodness and glory of heaven transforming our dry and stale existence into a flourish of holy living marked by justice and righteousness. At last, the promise of a life blessed by God is made good, and Isaiah envisions such blessing in terms of life-giving water flowing out upon the dry desert places that long to be transformed into places of beauty. This blessing is found in the promise of God that he will come, come with vengeance, and he will come to save. God will come with vengeance to be our certainty that justice will be at last meted out. God will come and God will save, save the ones who are willing to find security under the glory wings of God, knowing that to accept the salvation of God is to accept his way of life, a way of life that gives life to all, a way of life which is righteous in the eyes of God. 

Here in this place where the living water of God’s Holy Spirit has been poured out in torrents of blessing, this place where justice and righteousness have sprung up from the dry and dusty landscape like flowers after a rain, here we are told will be found a highway. The image of a road again captures our imaginations, especially when we hear that this highway is none other than the Way of Holiness. This is a highway, we are told, that belongs to those who are willing to walk on this road and no other. Isaiah also states that the unclean and the unwise, these will not be able to walk on this highway. As we imagine this highway in the desert, as we watch it go on for miles out in the distance getting smaller and smaller as it becomes just a small point on the horizon, we are left wondering just what is the destination of this road, just where will we end up if we begin our journey here? It seems as if the answer is found in the words of God who promises us that he will come to us, not willing to remain apart from our cursed existence of life in the wilderness but to come and pour out upon us the blessing of his life, the showering upon us with his Holy Spirit. So as God has come to us, as the rain has been poured upon us from the heavens, so too God desires that we come to him, that we have a way to come home to the God who longs for us to see his glory and majesty. God brings forth joy beyond his judgment, the joy found in his coming to us, in demonstrating his glory, the glory of his life which death cannot defeat. Yet, there is even more abundant joy, a joy beyond our wildest hopes to be found there where this road of holiness has suddenly appeared to us in the wilderness. Where this road is headed is not a place for the unclean, those who have not been declared to be clean by God, those whose hearts still harbor judgment against another while the days of the judgment of God is at hand. It is not for the foolish who refuse to live by the wisdom of the righteousness of God. No, this road is for those who know that judgment and retribution and vengeance are for God alone. We do not have to concern ourselves with setting things right because God in his glory will do so in the end. This road is for those who know the wisdom of living under the security of God’s hovering presence, finding our security through the life of God not through the death of another. This is who the road is for, those who understand the wisdom of living protected by the life which death cannot destroy, the glorious life of God.

This road then is for those who desire to find their everlasting home in the presence of God. This holy road of God then, is a road which leads us home. Just as there is great joy to suddenly find ourselves in the glorious presence of God, to experience the showers of blessing poured out on us in the pouring out of the Holy Spirit, so there is also a greater joy that awaits us as we walk this way of holiness because we know that where this road ends is home. One day our traveling days will be over for at last we will see the lights of home, we will peer through the open door, hear the welcome cries and experience the loving embrace of God and all those who have trusted their life to his salvation. This is when we will be surrounded by his promised peace and security that are ours because we have a God who does not want us to miss out on this joyous occasion. This is why our greatest fear should be the fear of missing out on this most glorious day, the day when we will come at last to Zion, to the house of the Lord, the house that will be our everlasting home. Isaiah exclaims that we will come home with singing, everlasting joy will be upon our heads; and we will obtain gladness and joy and all sorrow and sighing will be gone forever. This is why God has come to us so that we might be able to one day make our home with him, to know the thrill of everlasting joy, to know life without tears, and without a heavy heart.

What Isaiah may not have been able to fully grasp is that the way that God would come to us to save us is that he would come as one of us. God would enter our world as a baby who would grow up to be the man named Jesus. Jesus is the God who came to us and he is the God who is for us the way of holiness, the way that leads us home to that place of everlasting joy. The question we must ask ourselves, is this: are we ready for God to once again come to us just as he did when he came as the baby Jesus? Are we ready for God to come and be the one who will at last sort everything out and make it right? Are we ready to find our salvation under his glorious presence, to find our salvation in his life which was given for us upon the cross? Are you and I ready to experience the overwhelming flood of the presence of God, a presence which is like rain in the desert causing justice and righteousness to sprout up like flowers in the wilderness? Are we ready to rejoice and sing and laugh because we know without a doubt we have found our way home and we know that one day we will enter into the joy of our master? Praise be to Jesus who is the Lord of all joy!Amen