Day Twenty-Five
Thursday, December 21
Psalm 126
“When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, ‘The Lord has done great things for them.’ The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad. Restore our fortunes.”
Psalm 126:1-4a
Psalm 126:1-4a
From birth, I was a USC fan. As a small child I remember praying to the God of all creation for a first down or 3rd-down stop. Back then, USC was always good enough to build hope, but not good enough to win that one big game that mattered (oddly similar to today). And so, I learned to protect myself: not get my hopes up, downplay the positives, to not trust the good performances. When I am honest, I approach many aspects of life and faith in a similar way. I can trust God enough for most things, but for those that mean the most and that may lead to disappointment, I protect myself.
Psalm 126 was likely written upon the return from exile in Babylon and Persia. As the waves of exiles left Jerusalem and its destruction for an unknown future in a foreign land, would any of them have truly dreamed their grandchildren might see this day. And now that it happened, it seemed too good to be true; like a dream. Their hope had been realized and their joy returned: laughter and song! But it was their neighbors from other nations who recognized and put it into words first: “The Lord has done great things for them.” You can almost see the connections being made in the minds of God’s people. And then they themselves could own it: “The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad.” Amen! He has done great things for us, for me. But, then the line that caught me: “Restore our fortunes.” This is said in the present tense. God had already restored their fortunes, yet it was a plea for the future. These past few years have had their share of dark, painful places: in our family, in my relationships, and in our spiritual community. It was and is unclear when and how God would restore. But He has begun. I am slow to recognize it, even when my friends, like the other nations, remind me. And I struggle to fully trust it.
The Jews had waited so long for advent, but when the One who would restore their fortunes arrived, it was easy to miss Him. My spirit identifies with how easy it would be to not recognize Jesus, especially when He did not restore the way they hoped. However, this advent, I have a deeper sense of God’s invitation to put my full trust in Him; to not hedge. Even if the outcome is in process or looks different than what I imagined, I can have full hope that He is surely working out the plan that will restore not just mine, but all of our fortunes.
Psalm 126 was likely written upon the return from exile in Babylon and Persia. As the waves of exiles left Jerusalem and its destruction for an unknown future in a foreign land, would any of them have truly dreamed their grandchildren might see this day. And now that it happened, it seemed too good to be true; like a dream. Their hope had been realized and their joy returned: laughter and song! But it was their neighbors from other nations who recognized and put it into words first: “The Lord has done great things for them.” You can almost see the connections being made in the minds of God’s people. And then they themselves could own it: “The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad.” Amen! He has done great things for us, for me. But, then the line that caught me: “Restore our fortunes.” This is said in the present tense. God had already restored their fortunes, yet it was a plea for the future. These past few years have had their share of dark, painful places: in our family, in my relationships, and in our spiritual community. It was and is unclear when and how God would restore. But He has begun. I am slow to recognize it, even when my friends, like the other nations, remind me. And I struggle to fully trust it.
The Jews had waited so long for advent, but when the One who would restore their fortunes arrived, it was easy to miss Him. My spirit identifies with how easy it would be to not recognize Jesus, especially when He did not restore the way they hoped. However, this advent, I have a deeper sense of God’s invitation to put my full trust in Him; to not hedge. Even if the outcome is in process or looks different than what I imagined, I can have full hope that He is surely working out the plan that will restore not just mine, but all of our fortunes.
Mark Redekopp now works at USC and is fortunate to have a caring wife and two wonderful sons, Tim and Chris.