Jeremiah 31:7-14: a reflection

7For the LORD says, “Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout for the chief of the nations. Publish, praise, and say, ‘LORD, save your people, the remnant of Israel!’ 8Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the uttermost parts of the earth, along with the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her who travails with child together. They will return as a great company. 9They will come with weeping. I will lead them with petitions. I will cause them to walk by rivers of waters, in a straight way in which they won’t stumble; for I am a father to Israel. Ephraim is my firstborn. 10“Hear the LORD’s word, you nations, and declare it in the distant islands. Say, ‘He who scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd does his flock.’ 11For the LORD has ransomed Jacob, and redeemed him from the hand of him who was stronger than he. 12They will come and sing in the height of Zion, and will flow to the goodness of the LORD, to the grain, to the new wine, to the oil, and to the young of the flock and of the herd. Their soul will be as a watered garden. They will not sorrow any more at all. 13Then the virgin will rejoice in the dance, the young men and the old together; for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow. 14I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people will be satisfied with my goodness,” says the LORD.

In the midst of Jeremiah's prophecies, God gives a radiant promise of restoration. He will gather his scattered people from the ends of the earth, including the blind and the lame, the weak and the vulnerable; he will lead them by streams of water in a straight way where they will not stumble. And the heart of it: I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow. Their soul, he says, will be like a watered garden; they will not sorrow any more. God promises to turn his people's mourning into joy.

Notice the promise: God will turn mourning into joy. He does not merely promise to remove the mourning, leaving an emptiness; he promises to turn the mourning itself into joy, to comfort his people and make them rejoice, to satisfy the weary soul like a watered garden. The very sorrow they bore would be turned to gladness by God's hand. He gathers the scattered, leads the weak, and turns their grief into joy; the mourning would not be the last word, but would be transformed into rejoicing.

That promise to turn mourning into joy is a hope to hold in our own sorrow. We know mourning, grief, sorrow that can seem it will never lift; and we can feel that our mourning is the final word. But God promises to turn his people's mourning into joy, to comfort them and make them rejoice, to satisfy the weary soul. Your mourning is not the last word; God is able to turn it into joy, as he promised to turn his people's mourning into gladness. When you are in sorrow that seems it will never lift, hold the promise that God turns mourning into joy; he does not merely take away grief, but turns it to rejoicing, satisfying the weary soul like a watered garden. Trust the God who promises to turn mourning into joy, comforting his people and making them rejoice from their sorrow; your mourning, in his hand, can be turned into joy, as he promised to turn the mourning of his people into gladness.

Lord, in the midst of Jeremiah's prophecies, you give a radiant promise of restoration. You will gather your scattered people from the ends of the earth, including the blind and the lame, the weak and the vulnerable; you will lead them by streams of water in a straight way where they will not stumble. And the heart of it: I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow. Their soul will be like a watered garden; they will not sorrow any more. You promise to turn your people's mourning into joy. Show me the promise: you will turn mourning into joy. You do not merely promise to remove the mourning, leaving an emptiness; you promise to turn the mourning itself into joy, to comfort your people and make them rejoice, to satisfy the weary soul like a watered garden. The very sorrow they bore would be turned to gladness by your hand. The mourning would not be the last word, but would be transformed into rejoicing. Give me that hope to hold in my own sorrow. I know mourning, grief that can seem it will never lift; and I can feel that my mourning is the final word. But you promise to turn your people's mourning into joy. My mourning is not the last word; you are able to turn it into joy. When I am in sorrow that seems it will never lift, help me hold the promise that you turn mourning into joy. Help me trust the God who promises to turn mourning into joy, Lord, comforting his people and making them rejoice from their sorrow; my mourning, in your hand, can be turned into joy.