1 When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,
we were like those 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.
4 Restore our fortunes, Lord, like streams in the Negev. 5 Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy. 6 Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them.
Psalm 126 - a song of Ascent
Friends, today I'm sharing a special message that I listened to on Youtube this morning:
If you don't have time to watch it yourself [I promise it isn't 3 hours long!], let me share what I gleaned from it....
Firstly, those who ever has toured Jerusalem and seen the steps that led up to the Temple will know that there were 15 steps going up to the Temple Mount [I'd forgotten!].
Until today, I didn't realise what a song of Ascent meant, although I've seen it so many times when reading these Psalms.
Psalms 120 to 134 are songs of Ascent [sung on each step as the pilgrims ascended up to worship at the Temple]. Jesus Himself would have sung these songs too when He went up to Jerusalem to worship at the established feast times.
Now to the message that I received when listening...
God's dreams and visions for our lives can get buried under the rubble of many years... covered by disappointments, betrayals, our own disobedience. They become distant memories hidden from sight.
The pastor, who had just returned from a pilgrimage to Israel, shared how some of his tour leaders were allowed to see some excavations of the Pilgrim's Road [leading from the Pool of Siloam to the Temple]. This road had been covered by layers and layers of buildings over hundreds of years, but the archaeologists are gradually peeling back the rubble to reveal that the Pilgrim Road is still there in tact.
Can it be that long ago, God placed a vision or a dream in our heart and we thought it was all over with? Layers of our life have covered up what the Lord had in mind for us.
The dream isn't dead, it may be buried, hidden from sight, like that Pilgrim Road, but God sees it. It's still there. It can be revealed and restored.
There's a prayer in the midst of this Psalm of praise:
Restore our fortunes, Lord, like streams in the Negev.
I've been to the Negev in Israel's southern desert. It is barren and rocky, but it has a kind of stark beauty too.
When winter comes and the flash floods suddenly break through and those streams fill the dry river beds... the force of the waters wash away the rubble and rubbish. Then the desert flowers burst into life and the desert comes alive.
Don't give up in the desert of your life, the Lord can turn the tears sown there and make them like streams in the Negev, clearing the way for God's dreams to be restored to you.
Blessings on your Sunday!
Selah
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