There is a saying that has been around for ages, that asks if the glass is half full or half empty. A person who says that the glass is half full is an optimistic person, a hopeful person. They look for the positive in things. Contrarily, the person who says the glass is half empty is more pessimistic and negative. People frequently become “glass half empty” after going through difficult times, particularly if that lasts a long time. However, remaining “glass half empty” doesn’t make it any easier. Striving to have a “glass half full” attitude will help, even in the worst of times. Our psalm for today records some feelings of the people of Israel after having spent years, decades even, as captive in a foreign land, but have now been allowed to return to their homeland. Are they half empty, having spent years as captives, and knowing their homeland lies in ruins? Or are they half full, trusting in the Lord to raise them up again with His blessings?
The people of Israel had persistently and continually strayed away from Yahweh, disobeying His laws, refusing to follow His Word, and turning instead to false gods. After repeated warnings from the prophets that the Lord had sent, He finally allowed the nation to be overtaken by their enemies, and the people taken into captivity. Now, the people are allowed to return. Has the years of captivity beaten them down, causing them to be pessimistic about the future? Perhaps even afraid that the Lord will never truly forgive them? Or, instead, are they joyful and hopeful for what the Lord has in store for them in the future? Either one would be an understandable feeling.
As our psalm today begins, the psalmist and his group said that this time was like a dream (vs. 1). Was this a glass half full, good dream or a half empty nightmare? As we continue on in the psalm we see that the people were filled with joy and laughter, so they were definitely optimistic and happy people! (vs. 2-3). Instead of dwelling on all the bad things that had happened to them and their families over the last 70+ years, they instead were praising God for what He was doing for them right then. The Lord was bringing them back to their native land. They were focused on the love and mercy God was bestowing on them, not on past trials.
The glass half empty person would be worrying about what they would find when they arrived in their homeland. He would be fretting about having to rebuild their homes and cities, worrying about how they would accomplish all that they needed to do. He would be fearful of the enemies nations they would have to deal with. The glass half full crowd, the ones who wrote this psalm, instead chose to focus their thoughts and words on praising the Lord and recounting all that He had done for them, both in the past, now, and into the future. They chose to concentrate on the great things that the Lord has done for them.
It is true that we have trials, but it is equally true that God delivers us. We have sin, but we have a Savior who overcomes sin, and delivers us from sin’s dominion. The deeper the trouble, the louder our thanks to God should be. God does do great things for us. His power not only releases us from sin’s captive hold, but brings us back to Him.
The last two verses of our psalm speak of going forth sowing seed, and returning with the crop (vs. 5-6). They are reminiscent in a way of the parable of the sower that Jesus told of the man who sowed the seed and of his harvest, referring to bringing the Word of God to others, and reaping a harvest of souls for God’s Kingdom (Mark 4:2-20). Most of us have unsaved family members and friends, those who we would love to see accept Jesus, but as of yet they have resisted. We grieve over knowing they are spiritually lost. When we sorrow over the lost, and faithfully bring God’s message of salvation (the seed), we will later rejoice when that seed bears fruit, and our loved one is saved.
We can also have tears of repentance over sin in our life. By sowing those tears, we can reap a harvest of the return of God’s blessings. Our tears can also be from the tragedies we go through. Those tears can then become seeds that will grow into a harvest of joy because God is able to bring good out of tragedy. Be patient as we wait. God’s great harvest of joy is coming.
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