On Being A Captive

Last year I attended a Simulcast of a Beth Moore Conference in Denver, Colorado. The theme for her conference was Psalm 126, where the writer describes the joy for returning captives. This passage was set to a captivating melody, and the scripture was sung throughout the conference. I and a couple of my cohorts were so inspired that we decided to memorize this scripture.

The scripture as I memorized it from the New International Version is:

Psalm 126

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.

Being of the age that we are, it isn’t an easy task to memorize anymore….even as little as six verses. But we were committed, and we finally accomplished the task . We got where we could recite it frontward and backwards. And then we went on to ‘more compelling things’. Now, the question is….”Is there anything more compelling than committing God’s Word to memory?”

Well…to the point of this post. This morning, I awoke very early….around 3:00 a.m. I had a melody whirling around in my mind….the melody of Psalm 126. I started trying to recite the scripture and much to my dismay, I couldn’t even think of the first word of the first verse. I wrestled with this for about an hour, trying to recall at least one sentence that I had memorized. All I could think of were two words….joy and laughter.

I got up, made coffee, got my Bible and turned to the Psalms, Chapter 126. As I was refreshing my memory of the words of the Psalmist, it was quiet plain to me that it was God who awakened me. It’s one of His subtle ways to grab the attention of His stubborn children….just wake them up from a sound sleep to get them to LISTEN!

As I was reading the words, “When the Lord brought back the captives to Zion….” I realized that in the past year, I’ve become a captive of my own design, which has led to me losing my joy and laughter. I’ve become a captive of too many commitments without the motivation to carry them out. I’ve become a captive of too many, and too frequent world news programs on the T.V. I’ve become a captive of too many personal problems of people that I love, trying to be a “fixer” of those problems. I’ve become….I’ve become….a captive.

I’m ready for God to restore my fortunes of joy and laughter, like streams in a desert. But before He can do this, I’ve got to be willing to “let go” and let Him be the fixer of all burdens of the world.
And, that’s the answer to all burdens of life…”Let go and let God” and He will supply the joy and laughter that may be missing in many of our lives.

My sermon for the day.
God Bless.