Every day our youth group does devotions on a chapter of the Bible. Our Youth Pastor, Brock Adams, writes a devotion on a website, and all the youth and youth leaders are invited to add their comments and reflections on the same chapter. It’s a fantastic thing to see so many young men and women studying the Bible together daily.
Today the chapter that the youth are studying is Psalm 126. Verse five stood out to me.
5 Those who sow in tears
will reap with songs of joy.
It really reminded me of how God sometimes calls us to do hard things because they’re right…not because they’re easy. Doing what’s right isn’t always fun. Look at what God says in Isaiah 58:
6 "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe him,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
Doing the right thing isn’t always easy....there's a price to pay in lots of different ways - money, pride, comfort….whatever. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t rewards. As both Psalm 126 and Isaiah 58 say, even though there are challenges, sometimes even severe enough to cause fear, brokenness and tears, there is joy and there is light in the new day. When we step out of comfort and into challenge – when we allow God to use us to bring life, hope and help to those in need, we live a life worth living and that’s an exciting thought.
