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By: David Bothof
You may listen to this devotion in audio form via podcast here.
1 When the Lord brought back the captives to Zion,
we were like men who dreamed.
2 Our mouths were filled with laughter,
our tongues with songs of joy.
Then it was said among the nations,
"The Lord has done great things for them."
3 The Lord has done great things for us,
and we are filled with joy.
4 Restore our fortunes, O Lord,
like streams in the Negev.
5 Those who sow in tears
will reap with songs of joy.
6 He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him.
My friends and I one time thoroughly enjoyed cans of Dinty Moore beef stew. I’m serious. We didn’t just tolerate the canned stew, we honestly said ridiculous things like “This might be the best stew I’ve ever had!” and “Man, this stuff is great… I gotta try this later!” It was a joyful experience eating that stew.
Of course, there was a reason that stew was so good at the time: Perspective. We had just backpacked into the wilderness of the Sierra Nevadas carrying way too much weight for one night with not nearly enough physical preparation in the preceding months, and lunch had probably been a few Saltine crackers with some squeeze cheese and a side of trail mix washed down with canteen water. So after we had set up our sleeping gear, taken off our boots, filtered more drinking water, and finally unpacked our tiny stoves, we could cut open the cans of our wet cat food stew and warm them up. We were so tired and hungry for something hearty, that at the moment, that stuff was AMAZING!
I don’t know how much later it was, but for nostalgic reasons one of us decided we should try Dinty Moore canned stew again… but this time in the comfort of one of our homes when we weren’t physically exhausted or famished. I’m not a picky eater, but the words “almost inedible” came to mind. We laughed at the difference the perspective had made.
Biblical scholars aren’t 100% sure, but most would agree that this Psalm is about the joyful feelings of those returning from exile, most likely during the time of Ezra. Some also think it could be about King David being able to return home after having to flee from his palace because of his son Absolom’s takeover. But regardless of which story inspired this Psalm, I love the way it describes how they felt: “Our mouths were filled with laughter,our tongues with songs of joy.” I know my backpacking example isn't a 100% match, because my backpacking experience was about a hard experience changing our perspective so that something bad (canned stew) seemed good, whereas this Psalm is about a terribly difficult experience enhancing their perspective so that something good seemed extra good! But even if the analogy isn’t perfect, I think we had just a small taste of that joy they felt, because the words “mouths filled with laughter and tongues with songs of joy” immediately brought this memory to the front of my mind. We were laughing and carrying on, and just couldn’t stop talking about how great it was.
And this phenomenon of the joy of returning home from some place that was foreign is something that I think applies to all of us here during this lifetime. In Hebrews 11, when talking about the forefathers, it says “And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country--a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.” In a sense, we are aliens here on earth. We’re not yet home. Kind of like exiles living in a foreign land. It is difficult and at times, filled with pain and sorrow. But like it says in Hebrews, God is preparing a city for us, and someday, like a dream, with laughter in our mouths and joy on our tongues, we are going to be able to go up into that city. Yet while we’re here, it’s hard to imagine how amazing it will be.
And so I know that my backpacking stew analogy isn’t perfect, because heaven doesn’t need the struggles of our earthly existence in order to make it wonderful and joyous - God’s presence takes care of that - but the closest thing I can think of to experiencing the joy we will have one day when our race has been run is taking that 50lb backpack off after an all-day, grueling hike, removing our boots, and then laughing with joy in our mouths and carrying on around the campfire… a rest and relief so exquisite that it can even make canned stew taste like the best thing in the world.
When we finally get to go home, our mouths will be filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy.