Thursday, Dec 10: Restore Our Fortunes O Lord

Psalm 126

1 When the Lord restored the fortunes of

    Zion,
    we were like those who dream.
2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
    and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then it was said among the nations,
    “The Lord has done great things for

     them.”
3 The Lord has done great things for us,
    and we rejoiced.

4 Restore our fortunes, O Lord,
    like the watercourses in the Negeb.
5 May those who sow in tears
    reap with shouts of joy.
6 Those who go out weeping,
    bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
    carrying their sheaves.

Written by Guangyu Lou

Guangyu is the former Outreach Minister at Samuel and current member.

We have lived into Covid-19 pandemic for almost ten months. The year 2020 became a special era of transition for the people in this world.  We began to live in a time of transition from normal lives to coronavirus pandemic; a time of transition from in-person worship to Zoom virtual worship; a time of transition from the classroom to online class; a time of transition from work in the office to work from home; a time of transition from healthy to serious illness or even death; a time of transition from job to unemployment; a time of transition from the celebration of Thanksgiving and Christmas with family and loved ones to hosting virtual parties instead; a time of transition from president Trump to president Biden; a time of transition from the year of 2020 to 2021. Most of these transitions happened without warning and came from negative experiences. We live in a culture that has taught us to be very uncomfortable with uncertainty, so we are anxious when our lives are disrupted. 

“May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of Joy. Those who go out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, carrying their sheaves.” Psalm 126 looks for signs of God’s promise in dark and difficult times. It reminds us in the remembrance of things past, in the joy and the laughter the people knew when God brought them home from exile. Like the psalmist, we can remember when our family was all together, our church was full, the fellowship times with the Happy Birthday song, our mouths were filled with laughter, the nation was at peace and unity. Psalm 126 proclaims such sadness as we feel now will be transformed into shouts of joy and victory. These seeds of joy have been planted in sadness with tears through our faith in Jesus Christ, particularly in this Advent if we confuse Advent’s true joy with our culture’s teachings about happiness and prosperity. 

Thus, the Psalm not only calls upon God to use that transforming power and also challenges us to trust God’s joy, wherever we encounter it - in the stable in Bethlehem, at an empty tomb, in our homes, community, and church. We hope and pray for a return to some sense of normalcy. and there are hopeful signs as three pharmaceutical companies have developed vaccines that appear to be more than 90% effective. Even so, there may well be a long road to travel. We have all endeavored to remain well and safe, living out our love of neighbor through masks, distancing, and staying home. 

I wish you and your loved ones a safe, healthy, and Merry Christmas! 

Peace and Blessings!