One of the things that we struggle with in life is how do we deal with our emotions. There are times in our life when we are filled with doubt, joy, sorrow, despair, hope, depression, love, and excitement. This week we are going to discover that according to Psalm 126, there are some decisions you can make in the low places of your life that will lead you, no matter where you're starting from, into a place of supernatural joy and healing.
1. Nobody likes sorrow. What is it about sorrow that makes it so tough?
2. Read Psalm 126:1 What has to happen before the fortunes can be restored?
3. Read Psalm 126:1-6. How did the Israelites feel when their fortunes were restored? How do you think they felt when their fortunes were taken from them?
4. In those moments of loss, we have this deep and abiding feeling that we have been helplessly abandoned to the desert, and nobody knows, nobody cares, and nobody’s coming to our rescue. We’ve all been there, and we’ll all be there again. What is your first reaction when you find yourself in THAT place?
5. Read John 16:33 and 1 Peter 4:12. Pastor James said we should not be shocked by sorrow. There is this myth that states if I am good and do good things, then God will only allow good things to happen to me. God will not allow bad things to happen to good people. Why should we expect sorrow in our lives?
6. Read Psalm 126:1-2. To dream is to live in between what God has done in the past and what you’re hoping God will do in the future. How can dreaming help us deal with sorrow?
7. Pain has the ability to shut down our dreams. It has this ability to say no; you can’t go there, you can’t think that, you can’t hope for that, you can’t pray for that. What this passage reminds us of is that God has the ability to reawaken the dreams that lie dormant inside of us. Can you share a time when you had a dream that helped you get through a tough season in your life?
8. Read Psalm 126:5-6. Joyful dependency upon God is a fruit that is born only through sowing seeds of sorrow. This is why the Psalmist says to make sure when sorrow comes that, it is not wasted. We must use our sorrow to push us closer to God, to depend on him more because He is the source of joy. What does “sowing with tears” look like?
Pastor James’ Sermon Notes:
You Are Not Alone :: Part 6
How do you get up when you’re feeling low?
· (Psalm 126 NIV) " A song of ascents. 1 When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those 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, LORD, like streams in the Negev. 5 Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy. 6 Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them."
· (Psalm 126:3–4 NIV) "3 The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy. Restore our fortunes, LORD..."
· Don’t be shocked by sorrow.
· (John 16:33 NIV) “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”"
· (1 Peter 4:12 NIV) "Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you."
· (Psalms 126:1 NIV) “When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dreamed.”
· Begin to dream again.
· (Acts 2:17 NIV) “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.”
· (Psalm 126:3-4 NIV) "The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy. Restore our fortunes, LORD, like streams in the Negev."
· (Psalm 126:5 NIV) "Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy. "
· Sow your sorrows.
· (Psalm 126:6 NIV) "Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them."
· (Habakkuk 3:17-19 NIV) "Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights.”