Psalm 126 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 126 on biblegateway.com
Verse 1When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream.
Verse 2Then 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."
Verse 3The Lord has done great things for us, and we rejoiced.
Verse 4Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like the watercourses in the Negeb.
Verse 5May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy.
Verse 6Those who go out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, carrying their sheaves.
Devotion
We learn early in life that challenges come at us constantly. First efforts to feed ourselves or learn to walk slowly evolve into making friends, riding a bike, and completing an education. Yet nothing matches the overwhelming changes of parenthood. The excitement and preparations never adequately prepare us for the stages of pregnancy, birth, and the round the clock focus on infant needs.
So many experiences in life contain these contradictions of hope and anxiety, excitement and frustration, joy and sorrow. Education, relationships, aging, or accident—it seems silly to try to map a straight course through the unforeseen challenges and changes of life.
To what can we cling when life is always in flux? The psalmist calls us to center ourselves in God, in our confidence that while everything around us may be swirling, our God can hold us to the center.
Prayer
Blessed are you, O Lord our God, who gives us life, and leads us through our days. When everything around us seems impossible to pin down, help us to ground our lives in our certain relationship with you. Amen.
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