Tag: rejoice

“Those Who Sow in Tears Shall Reap in Joy” (Psalm 126, Song of Ascent)

There are times when God seems cruel and distant. Circumstances, trials, loss can speak confusion, doubt, and fear in our lives, yet God in His Word, ministers life and hope to all who hear His voice and receive His love.  

He gives understanding and wisdom to His ways in His Word, (Proverbs 2:6). Instead of being cruel, we learn and experience,  

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient . . . not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance 2 Peter 3:9. 

Here at Advent, approaching the day we celebrate the birth of our Immanuel, we seek Him and cry out as the hymn cries:  

“O come, O come, Immanuel, 
and ransom captive Israel, that mourns in lonely exile here 
until the Son of God appear” (Translator: J. M. Neale). 
 

Today, in our pilgrimage through the Song of Ascents, as the children of Irael journeyed up to Jerusalem to take time to celebrate the Lord’s faithfulness and deliverance, we look at Psalm 126,  

When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, 

we were like those who dream. 

Israel was held captive seventy years in Babylon. But throughout the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, we see the stubbornness of His people, disobedience and pride which brought about punishment under evil rulers.  

And we also witness throughout Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1st and 2nd Samuel, Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah and more, the great faithfulness of a gracious and compassionate God. 

The Lord is gracious, compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in mercy, forgiving iniquity and sin . . . (Exodus 34:6,7). 

However, all sin must be punished. The land of Israel had no Sabbath year rest for a total of seventy years. 

God warned the people. They were held captive exactly 70 years. His land had rest. The people? They remembered.  

Psalm 137 is a song in their anguish:  

By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept 
    when we remembered Zion. 
 There on the poplars 
    we hung our harps, 
 for there our captors asked us for songs, 
    our tormentors demanded songs of joy; 
    they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” 

How can we sing the songs of the Lord 
    while in a foreign land? 
 If I forget you, Jerusalem, 
    may my right hand forget its skill . . . Psalm 137:1-5. 

And God is faithful and true to His Word:  

Then our mouth was filled with laughter, 

and our tongue with shouts of joy; 

then they said among the nations, 

“The Lord has done great things for them.” 

   The Lord has done great things for us; 

we are glad Psalm 126:1-3. 

Time in God’s Word gives answers, understanding, and comfort through the “Why’s” and the dark days.  

“Dear Lord, we’re broken-hearted. We suffer great loss. Affliction. Trial.  

You give warning in Your Word. You give promises. You are faithful to them both.  

You are both merciful and just.  

You are both Holy yet forgiving. There is none like You.  

You are drawing all people to You and Your great name-sometimes through  

Help us to hear You every day, the warnings, 

“If you are not careful to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name, the Lord your God, then the Lord will bring on you and your offspring extraordinary afflictions (Deuteronomy 28:58). 

Help us remember Your promises as well. 

Help us have ears to hear and hearts to understand You and Your ways and Your love:  “We love him, because he first loved us” 1 John 4:19.  

 Restore our fortunes, O Lord, 

like streams in the Negeb! 

 Those who sow in tears 

shall reap with shouts of joy! 

 He who goes out weeping, 

bearing the seed for sowing, 

shall come home with shouts of joy, 

bringing his sheaves with him Psalm 126. 

“Dear Lord, we weep, but we look up and rejoice in You.  

You never abandon Your people. We need Your law written on our hearts, yes, You accomplished all we could never do.  

We can never be right, just, true, in and of ourselves.  

The arrival of the Messiah was what the people were looking forward to. We are looking to You, our help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth!” 

“God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, 

whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;  

who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, Hebrews 1:1-3, NKJV.  

“Yes Lord, help us acknowledge You in all our days, in all our decisions.  

Though we may “walk in the valley of the shadow of death, we will fear no evil, for You are with us” (Psalm 23).  

Help us trust You, the faithful and gracious Lord to be our hope this day and forevermore. You, Jesus, dwell in my heart, and the hearts of all who believe on You: 

“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God” (Revelation 21:3). 

Those who sow in tears Shall reap in joy . . . The Lord has done great things for us, And we are glad Psalm 126. Watercolor by Grace Rypkema / Legacy Studio 

Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel
shall come to you, O Israel.

O come, O Wisdom from on high,
who ordered all things mightily;
to us the path of knowledge show
and teach us in its ways to go. Refrain

 Those who sow in tears 
Shall reap in joy. 
He who continually goes forth weeping, 
Bearing seed for sowing, 
Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, 
Bringing his sheaves with him Psalm 126. 

Let us climb this mountain rejoicing: Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel
shall come to you, O Israel (O Come, O Come, Immanuel Translator: J. M. Neale (1851).

Notebook Praises Plus (a bit of) My Cancer Story

“Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men,” (people). “The Lord is at hand” Philippians 4:4,5.

tonirypkema.com

Today.

Yesterday.

Moving forward.

I can take joy in the Lord. I can’t always have joy in my circumstances, the weather, my location, or my past, but I can always take joy in the Lord.

He alone is good.

He’s holy. Perfect in all His ways. He’s the lover of our souls. Patient, gracious, slow to anger, kind. The Lord God Almighty.

He’s completely trustworthy, yet at times, hard for me to trust. If it wasn’t for His Word, my thoughts would believe He’s the opposite of all He is.

He allows great trial, confusion, pain.

Do I believe Him when everything falls apart?

His Word tells me He knows my name. Do I believe this in the moments when I can barely remember my own?

He hears the worries I have, my cries, my tears.

But doubt sometimes floods my being to bring me down as a sickness.

My faith fails, (past, present, and future), yet God remains faithful and true. No matter what.

“You’ve got cancer.”

My diagnosis, not someone else. This was trial number three, not one.

I lost faith, became afraid, yet in the fight, my sister told me, “Toni, the people who keep faith do best.”

Where else could I go? I looked to the Lord.

He helped me through my failures and gave me the strength to trust Him, (one day at a time) with eleven healthy, full-term births, and four miscarriages along the way.

The Lord upheld my marriage, year after year for better, worse, sickness, health, richer, and poorer.

The trials opened my eyes to the presence of the Lord, His keeping power and grace. Only one set of footprints could be found in the sand. Jesus carried me with compassion, grace, and love that bore all my “stuff.”

He brought “prayer warriors,” from all over the map. Food, gifts for the kids, desserts, cards, phone calls . . . the Lord was a present help. He was with me. He brought family, friends, songs, hymns, His Word.

I put all my eggs in one basket. The Jesus basket.

Cancer opened my eyes to many failures and sicknesses in my heart. When we pray prayers like, “Search me, God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my anxious thoughts.
 See if there is any offensive way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting,” you better believe, God will answer. (Psalm 139:23,24).

Cancer gave me more than it took away, it gave me an increased faith in the true and living God.

After my third chemo treatment, I came home feeling very sick. The sickness was to begin in a day and a half, not an hour and a half. The kids were spending time with a neighbor.

Laying down on the couch, eyes closed, I felt death in my bone marrow.

My body was rocked hard with the chemo. It wasn’t used to anything meds, ever. Not even for childbirth! But, fighting cancer, . . . I did the chemo.

Did they give me too much Adriamycin?

Shouldn’t I be seeing lights? It’s so dark. I thought I was going to die. Darkness was there, but then . . .

I had a vision. (I know you’ll think I’m crazy,) but a door opened in the darkness and light came through.

Two, healed, but nail-pierced hands stretched out of the open door. Then words (which I had read thousands of times from my favorite children’s book by Glen Keane), came to mind:

“Not all know Me as their King.”

That was it.

This was huge!

I had the assurance I was to live. But even more.

The Lord enlisted me in His army. He gave me work to do.

Weeks later, when I was strong enough to return to church, a guest Missionary pastor highlighted on the screen a verse from Philippians 1:25,26.

“And being confident of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy of faith, that your rejoicing for me may be more abundant in Jesus Christ . . . “

Again, the Lord was speaking, “Toni, you’re going to make it through this horrible sickness and multiple trials, but you will now share joy and faith in My name with others.”

Yes, “Rejoice in the Lord, and again I will say, rejoice!”

I will never be ashamed to share the Good News of the One who has saved my life for salvation and every continuing day on this thorny earth.

While I have my being, I’m living for Jesus. He’s the only One Who truly, completely, perfectly Loves. (Period).

Jesus loves me, you, every human being on this planet. We all need Him.

This is not a religion. This is life, hope, peace, and love. This is what the world needs . . .

Do you know Jesus as your King? Perhaps the time is now.

Eyes Up! God’s Word Speaks

 

I earnestly prayed, “Increase my faith,” and it seems in answer to my request, God ordered a stress test of trials and circumstance. 

I had a Bible reading plan in Psalms,  Proverbs, OT, and NT for each day’s reading. God spoke a similar message through each Book one day. 

I was given exhortation from His Word in Proverbs,  If you fail under pressure, your strength is too small.  (1)

Then my reading in Jeremiah proved a similar message,

“If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?”(2)

 “Is this encouragement? I wondered. It’s a if I could hear the stampede.

I turned to Proverbs 3 for some wisdom, My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD Or loath His reproof, For whom the LORD loves He reproves, Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights . . .

My NT reading for the morning in Hebrews 12: 2-4 brought me instruction in my dilemma,

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 

looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

“Let go of it all, and focus on Me!” God spoke so clear to me.

Eyes up!” was God’s exhortation. 

Discipline is good. For my growth and renewed faith and strength, I must be taught through it. 

I was reminded: 

Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? 

For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. (3)

“Eyes up!” 

God’s Word speaks right to the heart. 

“Let go of the garbage. Continue on your race unincumbered with all the loss and hurt. Let Me in . . . “

Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees,  and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. (4)

Who will join me today and start a new day with a new skip in our step because in the process of the walk with Him, He increases our faith!

Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.

See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled. (5)

I can’t run this race without the Spirit of the Lord. I try on my own, but in my own strength, I’m worn down and fail.

With each new day, let’s run this race with lifted hands and strengthend knees, with a walk forward with increased faith and eyes up on the author and finisher of our faith,

Jesus!

 

 

 

 

(1) Proverbs 24:10
(2) Jeremiah 12:5
(3) Hebrews 12: 9-11
(4) Hebrews 12: 12,13

(5) Hebrews 12: 14,15

“Let us sing ‘Joy to the World the Lord is Come'”

A song can bring hope. Let a song bring healing and light in the dark spaces.

 

Classic Christmas hymns are memorable. They’re powerful with their clear and focused doctrinal lyrics.

They also can fall into the danger of being over familiar, where the words aren’t heard anymore. They become as elevator music to a hearing ear. 

Isaac Watts penned Joy to the World in the 1700’s for Christmas. Hundred’s of years later, these lyrics are rich in wisdom and carry remedy for our hearts in turmoil, sadness, and fear.

“Joy to the world the Lord is come, let earth receive her King. Let every heart prepare Him room, and heaven and nature sing, and heaven and nature sing.”  

Hearts are burdened and weary. Believers in Jesus, His birth, death, resurrection can be tempted to doubt, forget the good, and lose the song of His grace and new mercies for each new day.

Let’s prepare Him room. The dark world around us needs a God song. Let heaven and nature sing, and let’s take a breath and join this chorus in our attitudes and willingness to shine for Him. 

Christians need their lives to sing for the Lord at this time. 

People of all ages, the young, the elderly, everyone in this troubled day are in need to hear heaven and nature sing. There’s  power and refreshing of outside crisp air, the cover and color of evergreens, the cloud’s formations. A change of space brings revival. 

I’ve thought about changes in melody and song. Think of the classic lyrics, Amazing Grace how sweet the sound.

They’re sung in many melodies. Each brings the deep truths alive. 

How about “Hallelujah“? Oh, the many different melodies we sing those glorious words of praise.

I ventured to put a new twist to Joy to the World to bring out the lyrics of some fantastic verses: 

“No more let sin and sorrow grow, nor thorns infest the ground. He comes to make His blessings flow, far as the curse is found.”

How glorious are these thoughts. We receive Him, and we don’t have to let sin and sorrow grow, we can walk in newness of life and He fills us with His Spirit. 

Simply to speak these words lift a weary soul.

Jesus comes to make His blessings flow, far as the curse is found. He is able. He is Savior of the world. He is a gracious, compassionate, slow to anger. He  abounds in mercy.

Jesus comes to bring forgiveness to whosoever will believe in Him.

To this we sing Hallelujah. So let us sing, “Joy to the world the Lord is come”!

The soil of our heart can become parched and dry as the day’s minutes pass by.

The winter winds of loss and outside fears bring a sting of pain. 

But hear the good news: He rules the world with truth and grace
And makes the nations prove
The light of His righteousness
And wonders of His love . . . 

Hallelujah. Let earth receive her King!

Prayer: 

“Dear Lord, give us Your strength to sing: 
“Joy to the world! the Savior reigns; Let men their songs employ . . .”  

You’re the One who asks of us, “Do you have ears to hear? Do you believe I am He? Have you prepared your heart for Me?

You tell us, ‘I’m your peace.’

‘I’m your healing.’

‘I’m your rescue.’

‘I’ve come to bring salvation and grace.’

It’s time I agree with You, Lord. Do I believe You Lord? Help me receive Your love.

Yes, I receive. Yes, I believe. 

I pray now, help my unbelief. Bring Your joy to my world.  In Jesus name, Amen.” 

Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—John 1:12. 

How many ways can we sing, “Amazing Grace”? How many ways can we say “Hallelujah”!

So, let us sing, “Joy to the World, the Lord is Come.”
Let our lives sing as we focus on Him as He lets His blessings flow .

 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

 Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 13 “Make level paths for your feet,” so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed. Hebrews 12:11-13.

“Let us sing, Joy to the world, the Lord is come!”

Merry Christmas to you all, 

Toni