Ps 126:1-3 "When the LORD brought back the captives to Zion, we were like men who dreamed. 2 Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs 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 are filled with joy." NIV
There are times in the Lord when His mercy brings about restoration of lost dreams and lost hopes in such stunning and complete fashion that it is like living in a dream. Throughout the word of God there is testimony after testimony of the night seasons of God and the glorious morning that follows. Joseph in captivity awoke to complete vindication and promotion to the promised place of influence, David emerged from years of persecution and conflict to the throne of Israel, Peter returned from a time of complete failure and despair to the restoration of his calling to intimacy with the Lord and fruitfulness in ministry. Psalm 126:1-3 is a reflection of one such time.
The people of Israel spent many years in Babylonian captivity. Their hearts were in mourning as they were carried away from the land they loved. Their season of mourning is recorded in Ps 137:1-3 as the Psalmist grieves over the loss of their heritage in God: “By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. 2 There on the poplars we hung our harps, 3 for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!" NIV They endured a season of mocking and bondage that wounded and humbled them greatly. But this was not the end of the story for God’s chosen people. The story does not conclude with mourning but with laughter!
Verse one of Psalm 126 describes the end of God’s dealings! “When the LORD brought back the captives to Zion, we were like men who dreamed. 2 Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy.” They went out with grief into a time of captivity but once again their mouths are filled with laughter as the Lord turns their sorrows into songs of joy and bursts of laughter! Though God allows seasons of trial and seeming emptiness we must always guard our hearts from believing that this is the end of the story. With God there is always a resurrection. As Rom 8:28-29 says “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” NIV Even when it seems that there is no hope; with God there is always hope.
Even when we cannot see a way or a purpose; with God there is always a way and He is always fulfilling a righteous purpose even through the attacks of the enemy! Joseph was treated with great injustice and cruelty by his brothers and yet he was able to see beyond the pain of this betrayal to a higher work that was taking place. In Ge. 45 Joseph reinterprets his painful life experiences through the lens of God’s purpose and is able to even comfort the very brothers that betrayed and wounded him with the knowledge that God had used their ill treatment to bring about good! Expect from God’s hand the same ability to bring about restoration in your life as he was able to work in Joseph’s circumstances and do not harden your heart with thoughts of judgment and bitterness! God is bigger than any mistreatment or disappointment you will ever face!
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