SATURDAY EDITORIAL

Restoration Work

"When the LORD brought back the captives to Zion, we were like men who dreamed. 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." —Psalm 126:1–2

The work of restoration and renewal takes place all around us. We see it as people labor to rebuild their homes after the devastation of floods, hurricanes, and earthquakes. Forests that have been ravaged by fires grow back over time. Old homes are refurbished because of their historical or sentimental value. Through the power of modern medicine, health is restored and broken bones are repaired.

One of the more amazing — indeed, miraculous — examples of restoration is happening in the state of Israel, thanks to the support and generosity of our Christian friends. Over and over again, we see God continuing to bring His people, the Jews, back to their land, fulfilling the covenant He made with Abraham so many thousands of years ago.

Like the author of Psalm 126, our mouths are filled with laughter and our hearts rejoice because "the LORD has done great things for us." God, indeed, has restored our fortunes. He has taken our tears and turned them into joy.

God's ability to restore life, to bring good from tragedy, to bring joy out of grief, is often beyond our ability to comprehend. But that He specializes in doing just this is evident to all who believe and call Him Lord. Even when we are burdened with sorrow or crippled with grief, we can turn to Him and trust that He will work to restore us.

Then we will be able to experience, as the psalmist described, "Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy. They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing as they return with the harvest" (vv.56, NLT).

If you are weighed down today with worries, beset with troubles that seem overwhelming, remember that even if it doesn't appear so, God is at work bringing about that great harvest of joy.

With prayers for shalom, peace,

Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein