We often end up on a dead-end street with no outlet. We wonder how we got there. We thought we were right when we made the turns to get where we are. Evidently, we were not right. We were wrong. We sit down on a pile of rocks and begin to consider our plight. We recall other days of difficulty and other times we found ourselves at the absolute end of ourselves--without wisdom, where knowledge was spent on mindless arguments and unfruitful pursuits. Though we feel empty and the walls around us overshadow us with doubts, we cannot help but recall times we saw great things--things only God could provide, create, and make fruitful. We remember and we cry. We cry for the lost opportunities we squandered. We mourn. We mourn for our wasted efforts, our foolish musings, our blighted bounty.
"When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream." Psalm 126:1
We thought we were in charge of our lives. And we were. God had given us the freedom to turn to Him or to turn from Him. We chose to turn away and cut new paths and build greater cities for our glory. When the walls crumbled and the cities fell to others we realized how complacent we'd become. What the Lord gave, the Lord removed. Then he opened our eyes to the arrogance of our minds, the apathy of our hearts. And we remembered we are nothing apart from the Father. And we repented. And God blessed us once again.
"2 Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The Lord hath done great things for them.
3 The Lord hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad."
Once again we saw the error of our ways. We saw the glory of God's mercy and grace. We recognized that to forget God, even for an instant, can bring us to a place of ruin. We saw that we must dwell in His presence and abide in Him and put Him first in all our words, in all our actions, in all our thoughts. As cleansing tears poured down our cheeks, we cried out:
"4 Turn again our captivity, O Lord, as the streams in the south."
And God honored our humility, our love for Him. He had mercy upon us and gave us new roads to walk upon, new places to go to, and fields to plant. Our tears watered the prayers of our efforts and heartache for the lost sheep. And we were reminded:
"5 They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.
6 He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him."
May we never forget you, God. May we move onward into the fields ripe unto harvest. May we be the laborers others have prayed for. May we treat our seed as "precious" so we may all rejoice together in heaven. Lord, God Most High, pour out your Spirit upon us, convict us and show us Your glory. Keep us ever mindful of You in all our ways. selahV
[Passages from Psalm 126]
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