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 it was said among the nations,
‘The LORD has done great things for them.’
The LORD has done great things for us,
and we rejoiced.
Restore our fortunes, O LORD,
like the watercourses in the Negeb.
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
The Negev (Negeb) is a barren area south of Palestine which merges into the Sinai desert. As I pray with today's lesson I gaze at this image of the desert....
It is wondrous to see how eager the desert is to produce greenery. Almost any parcel of land that receives water seems to have seeds deep within its soils that will sprout. Even if a region has been drought-ridden for years, something will grow when water returns.
What are some of the regions of your life...your hopes...your relationships...that have been "dry"? How might the promise expressed in the psalm moisten your thoughts? How might the living water of God's love, sprinkled upon your understanding of possibilities, promote something new?
No comments:
Post a Comment