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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, \u201cThe Lord has done great things for them.\u201d 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. (Psalm 126)

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The joy that this Psalm speaks of, is that unique kind of deep-rooted joy that\u2019s only found among the people of God.\xa0 It\u2019s a contentment that transcends the ebbs and flows of wealth, work, and possessions.\xa0 It\u2019s a peace that flows steadily beneath the shifting situations, diagnosis, and surprises of our lives.\xa0 It is a hope that\u2019s anchored, unmoving in the bedrock of God\u2019s promises.\xa0 A trust that can bring a smile, a laugh\u2014even a song\u2014in the darkest of valleys.\xa0 That\u2019s joy.\xa0 A fruit of the Spirit, a gift of God.

According to the psalm, joy arises from past memory, gives a solid place to stand in the present, and a hopeful picture for the future.\xa0

The past actions of God, when \u201cthe Lord restored the fortunes of Zion\u201d in the words of the psalm, or when Jesus lived, died, and rose again for us in the Christian story are the place where our joy is anchored.\xa0 Because of what God has done in forgiving us, setting us free, and offering us life in abundance through Christ, we are a people of joy.

Knowing what God has done in the past also anchors our future.\xa0 We hold a hope of a world renewed: all pain and tears wiped away in a new heaven and a new earth where peace reigns, disease disappears, and all relationships are set right.\xa0 It is a place and time, in other words, of deep joy and gladness in the presence of God.\xa0 \xa0

Therefore, when trouble or heartache strike, we can pray with the psalm: \u201crestore our fortunes, Lord.\u201d\xa0 It is a way of praying \u201con earth as it is in heaven.\u201d\xa0 A prayer that asks God to make the joy we have known in the past and the joy we await in the future complete even in this present moment.\xa0

This sure past and future hope shape other aspects of how we live too.\xa0 Many look for happiness in relationship, but we find ourselves loved perfectly and completely by God in Christ already and therefore able to love.\xa0 Many look for happiness in a party, but we find ourselves invited to a wedding feast.\xa0 Many look for happiness in entertainment, but we find our real life in God filled with better promises and a better story.\xa0

There is a steadiness to this joy that we find in God then.\xa0 We are daughters and sons, adopted into God\u2019s family and belonging to Him.\xa0 Our life is no longer built by our own achievements, but rather is anchored in the life He has won for us.\xa0 Our deepest cravings and yearnings in life find satisfaction in the one who grants to us abundant life, salvation, and nourishment, all without money and without cost.\xa0 And we know that even in times of heartache and pain, there remains a solid hope to look forward to.\xa0 God\u2019s work is not yet complete and what we see is not all there is.\xa0 For even \u201cthose who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy.\u201d\xa0 \xa0\xa0

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