Psalm 126 Meditation | Jesus Restores the Fortunes of Believers

For faith to be worth anything it must be trial-worthy. Only when God resolves every problem in the coming age will faith become obsolete. But what does biblical faith do in hard times? The writer of Psalm 126 helps us answer that question. His song was not written during a time of ease; “Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like streams in the Negeb!” (4). The Negeb is a desert. But it could be restored; flash floods can suddenly fill it up with life-giving water. This is the prayer of faith: Lord, things aren’t going well for us. Can you fix this? True faith always turns us to God, believing that he is the only one who can help.
But faith isn’t a blind leap. The God believers call on has a reputation for helping. With joy the writer recalls former restorations (1–3). “Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy.” Recalling joy is powerful. Just try remembering a time when the Lord made you glad. Memories of joy are contagious. Perhaps that’s why the writer—who needed restoration—could say, “We are glad.”
And remembering God’s past restoration is more than reminiscence. It assures those for whom joy feels foreign that it is not impossible to re-gain. We have all been surprised by joy. The end of the psalm is like a catechism for troubled believers. What can those who trust in the Lord expect? “Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! He who goes out weeping, bearing the seeds for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him” (5–6). What if we thought about sad times as how we sow for joy? Sadness primes gladness. The fact that God breaks-up grief with bursts of joy is a testimony to his great kindness.
But the most important message of Psalm 126 is not that sometimes believers laugh but that one day our hard journey will be over. Jesus ties his disciples’ happiness to his felt presence. In Jesus’ absence his friends would “weep and lament” (John 16:20). But Jesus will be reunited with believers. Then “your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you” (22). Grieve. But not as those who have no hope (1 Thess. 4:13). Jesus’ return will forever restore believers’ for-tunes.