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 126:5-6)
This Psalm promises that sadness will turn to joy. When we have a sad season in our lives, God often walks us through it and moves us on to a cheerier time. But what happens when we don’t see an end to what saddens us?
Then, we can look through the Psalms like a telescope, zooming to the future: we have a blessed hope that will be filled beyond our own lifetime here on this earth. Then our joy will be full and permanent.
This “telescope effect” is an antidote to a teaching that’s popular nowadays that says you are guaranteed a joyful and healthy life now if only you have faith. According to this bogus teaching, if you lack a joyful and prosperous life now, that means you don’t have enough faith. And that lack of faith is your fault.
Today’s passage helps me deal with the end of my being a serious competitive runner. Because of developing atrial fibrillation, I no longer have mighty power in my legs. I am now more of a jogger than a racer. My cardiologist says it will never be healed in my lifetime. He is probably correct…. and no, the persistence of the problem is not my fault for not having enough faith!
Do I miss competing and winning medals? Yes. But I really am not nearly as upset about it as I would have thought I would be if you had told me this two years ago. Why? Because God keeps providing. One example: He gave me a new volunteer assignment serving the Board of our church…what a useful way to redeem some of the time I would have spent on my crazed competitive running.
I can’t rack up medals anymore, but I’m glad that God keeps providing grace. The joy that gives is an amazing preview of what eternity will be like when we’ll have joy beyond measure.
Kenny B's World 
good stuff young feller… 🙂
glad you have seen this…
I have ‘A-fib’ too… for years now… did the “shock thing” where they kill you for a second and bring you back… brought me back “in rhythm” for 6 most… then it went back to missing beats again. They wouldn’t do it “again” because of “my age” (about 10 yrs ago) but I haven’t really had any issues with my ‘A-fib’.
On the other hand… my #2 son who turned 60 this year… has had ‘A-fib’ for quite a while… has been “shocked” into rhythm several times… always goes back to ‘A-fib’ again… he has ‘A-fib’ attacks… they wipe him out… he had an operation where they put in some kind of electrical wire to “shock” him when he gets an attack… a week later he was back in for “complications.”…. then the same thing another week after that… then a 3rd trip back another week later…. he seems to be doing better right now… even went back to work for one day last week to see how it would go…
I guess there is ‘A-fib’ and then there is ‘A-fib’…. praying that yours will be like mine… not like my son’s.
In this world we WILL HAVE tribulation…. we WILL lose sometimes and not win every time… guess how I know that… 🙂
philip
>
LikeLike
Thanks for your comments, Phil. I haven’t had the shocking a-fib treatments you and your son got.Now the beta blocker each day keeps the afib under control. My cardiologist says I may or may not ever need a pace maker. May we both continue to have thankful hearts in spite of the tribulation !
Ken
LikeLike
Ken, I can relate to what you are saying. In the natural course of events I find that after racing for 45 years, my 5K time is what my 10K time used to be! I have photos of the over 1,000 trophies, medals, etc but do not keep them. I like the 2nd stanza of the Old rugged Cross:
“So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross
Till my trophies at last I’ll lay down,
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it someday for a crown.”
LikeLike