Monday 12/12/2022

A heritage of joy! Israel’s long history included incredibly low times of misery at the hands of tyrants (notably slavery in Egypt—cf. Exodus 1:8-11, and exile in Babylon—cf. 2 Kings 24:13-14, 25:11). But it also included God’s action to deliver them in the Exodus and in the return from exile. Psalm 126 poetically recalled the joy of the times when God lifted them up from their humble status and prayed that God would again allow them to live in the joy of God’s deliverance. The first half of this psalm was a journey in memory. The Israelites never forgot the Exodus from Egypt—their “defining story”—nor the jubilation of being set free from exile. “Yes, the Lord has done great things for us,” the psalmist affirmed God lifting them up from their humble status was a permanent part of their history. What do you remember as a time when God did “great things” in your life? How do you keep that memory alive? The second half of the psalm became a prayer, based in the confidence that the same God who did great things in the past would do them again. Are there parts of your life in which you echo the prayer, “Let those who plant with tears reap the harvest with joyful shouts”? In what ways can this Advent season nourish your confidence that, in the words of Psalm 30:5, “Weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning!

Prayer: Lord God, thank you for the times—like the birth of Jesus—when you did great things for your people. Help me to live in the confidence that you always lift us up and give us joy. Amen.