READ
What about a song strengthens us? How does worship so clearly remind us of God’s faithfulness? As we sing, whether on a Sunday morning at church or driving across town, it’s as if melody and lyrics wash over us and strengthen us almost instantly. They renew our confidence in the loving and faithful God we serve. So often we sing about how He has been with us in the past while asking Him to be near us in the future.
I believe that is what’s happening in Psalm 126, known as one of the Songs of Ascents, which Israelite pilgrims sang as they traveled to Jerusalem. The psalmist remembers the past restoration of the Israelites and recalls their overwhelming gratitude and joy for what God had done.
In the second part of the psalm, the focus shifts from remembering past celebration to looking ahead with hope in God’s continued care. These words declared their trust that God would still be working for their good, even in difficult and sorrowful times. As the psalmist wrote, “those who sow with tears” will also “reap with songs of joy” (verse 5). The same is true for you and me.
Let’s look at Psalm 126 together:
When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,
We were like those who dreamed.
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.”
The Lord has done great things for us,
And we are filled with joy.Restore our fortunes, Lord,
Like streams in the Negev.
Those who sow with tears
Will reap with songs of joy.
Those who go out weeping,
Carrying seed to sow,
Will return with songs of joy,
Carrying sheaves with them.
REFLECT
My brother-in-law is a high school football coach at a Christian school in Tennessee. He has held the role for nearly thirty years, and it has always been clear he was born to do it. Every year, under his leadership and spiritual guidance, each team writes its own unique story and shares its own special bond.
My sister, who also works at the school, has sweetly partnered with him. Together they have turned their careers into a ministry and their football community into a family. My sister uses her gift for exceptional home cooking to make dinner for the senior football players each week. Every Thursday night, roughly fifteen young men pile into their modest home for a meal and fellowship. These boys know they are loved, and it’s easy to see God at work through it all.
About ten years ago, though, tragedy arrived and tried to steal all the goodness from this close-knit football family. One of the most likable and joyful players on the team was driving home from practice when he lost control of his car and veered off the road into the surrounding trees. The accident took his life and injured two other teammates, and it tried to take all hope along with it.
My sister and brother-in-law felt the depth of heartache that times like this bring. Darkness and sadness had taken up residence in their small suburb of Nashville, in their school, and even in their home. Comforting others while grieving themselves was incredibly difficult, but they believed God was writing a unique story, even in their pain.
As someone who has always been moved by music, I remember our church’s worship band leading us in a hope-filled anthem called “The Lord Our God” around that same time. As I sang the lyrics, I felt both sadness and celebration in my heart. “From this darkness, You will lead us, and forever we will say, You’re the Lord our God” — those became faith-strengthening words. I knew that God was not only with my family in their darkness, but that He would faithfully lead them through it.
You and I are like the traveling Israelites. We’ve been rescued and restored, but we are still on a pilgrimage through some rather tough terrain called “life.” Both joy and sorrow are on the path. But as we walk and live each day, we hold fast to God's faithfulness, which we have already witnessed, and to the belief that, in His mercy and compassion, we will see His goodness again and again. As the psalmist writes, though “we sow with tears, we will reap with songs of joy” (v. 5). This present suffering will not last, but like the Israelites, we might need a song to strengthen us as we walk through it.
That year, my brother-in-law’s football team played through their heartache, believing their season could still glorify God. They played one game after another, determined yet dependent on Him. With a teammate wearing the jersey of the friend they had all lost, they advanced to the playoffs and went on to win the State Championship, the first in the school’s history. But my brother-in-law, and anyone who witnessed that season, would tell you that what those boys did transcended winning football games.
With God’s help, they became a source of strength and inspiration — to each other, to a hurting mother who had lost her son, to their student body, and to people like me who watched and cheered from afar. When they walked off the field for the last time that year, they were carrying more than a trophy. They were carrying the harvest of all that God had promised. It was just a glimpse of the joy to come.
RESPOND
Take a moment to process what God might be leading you to do in light of what you just read.
What are you grateful for from the past, and what are you still asking God to restore?
What have you witnessed God restore in your life that increases your faith that He will do it again?
This week, find a worship anthem to strengthen you. Maybe it’s “The Lord Our God” by Kristian Stanfill and Jason Ingram, or maybe it’s something else. Whatever it is, play it often and let the music give you the strength to keep walking faithfully with Him.
REST
Take a moment to rest in God’s presence, and consider one thing you can take away from your time reading. Then close your devotional experience with this prayer:
Lord, thank You that we can have joy and hope even when things are hard. Help us to trust in Your faithfulness. Give us the strength to keep believing that You will restore us again and again. Thank You for Your promise that our suffering does not have the final word. Today, we sing songs of joyful praise to You, knowing that You are at work and that a final joy-filled harvest awaits us. Amen.
Port City writer Holly Campbell wrote today’s devotional.