"It Seemed Like a Dream"
[Psalm 126]
Last Friday, around 4:20 AM, I woke up laughing loudly from a dream. In the dream, I met Pastor Kim Chang-hyuk, who had passed away, and we were having a joyful conversation, joking around, and I woke up from the dream while laughing. It had been about a year since Pastor Kim left us, so I was happy to see him even if it was just in a dream. If that had not been a dream but reality, would you have believed it? Certainly not. I know that I can no longer see Pastor Kim in this world. There is no hope of meeting him again in this life. But when I leave this world and go before the Lord, I will meet Pastor Kim again in heaven. This is the hope I have. But if God were to resurrect Pastor Kim and send him before me, and I could meet him again in this world, I would undoubtedly be so amazed by this impossible event that I would be shocked over and over again. I would pinch myself to make sure if it was a dream or reality. What miraculous event do you long for, something that seems impossible to believe in your life? In other words, what is your earnest hope, the dream you are hoping for?
In today’s scripture, Psalm 126:1, the psalmist confesses, “It seemed like a dream.” What unbelievable event happened in the past that led him to say, “It seemed like a dream”? The unbelievable, miracle-like event he is referring to is when God allowed the Israelites, who were in exile in Babylon, to return to the land of Judah (Park Yun-seon). When thinking about God's great work of salvation, both the psalmist and the Israelites who had returned from exile could hardly believe it. Especially, when they were in the midst of sorrow and tears, longing and praying for God’s salvation (verses 5-6), the delay in the response to their prayers led them to discouragement and despair. But when God's dramatic work of salvation freed them from their bondage and they were liberated to live in freedom, it must have seemed like an unbelievable miracle to them. Therefore, when the psalmist thought back on God's salvation history, he confessed, “It seemed like a dream.”
Last month, I watched the inauguration of the first African American president of the United States, Barack Obama, and saw many African American grandmothers shedding tears. I believe they, along with many other African American citizens, felt like they were living a dream. It was an event they could never have imagined or believed. Especially when African Americans were once enslaved by white people, who would have dared to dream that an African American could become president? There is no need to even go back to the time of slavery. Even in the 1960s, I believe no one would have dared to dream that an African American could become president. However, during Obama's inauguration last month, many African Americans believed that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream had come true, the dream he shared during his famous 1963 speech in front of 250,000 people at the Lincoln Memorial on August 28. Dr. King spoke about his dream: “One day, on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. One day, even in Alabama, with its vicious racists, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and girls as sisters and brothers” (Internet). Now, look at the United States today. Not only has Dr. King's dream been fulfilled, but we also see an African American as the president of the United States. This must be an unbelievable, dream-like event, especially for African Americans. Now, we, as Asians, too, can dream. In the time of my children, who’s to say that an Asian president can’t emerge?
In today’s passage, Psalm 126, the psalmist recalls an event that seemed like a dream—namely, the miraculous return of the Israelites to the land of Judah after their captivity in Babylon, brought about by God’s great act of salvation. The psalmist says: “Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing; then they said among the nations, ‘The Lord has done great things for them.’ The Lord has done great things for us, and we are glad” (verses 2-3). Reflecting on that event, the psalmist immerses himself in the joy and laughter that filled their hearts at that time. And in that moment, when God had performed His great work (verse 3), the psalmist recalls how they all praised God with the joy He had given them through their salvation. By the great grace of God’s salvation, as they praised Him, even the Gentiles said, “The Lord has done great things for them” (verse 2). The psalmist brings this to mind.
Moreover, we see that the psalmist continues to pray for his fellow Israelites who are still in exile, not yet returned to the land of Judah: “Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like the streams in the Negev” (verse 4). The phrase “like the streams in the Negev” refers to the seasonal torrents that overflow during the rainy season, and the psalmist is praying that all of Israel’s exiled people will return to their land, just as those rivers overflow (commentary by Park Yun-seon). In the midst of this prayer, the psalmist has confidence that God will answer. We can see this in verses 5-6: “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.” While praying for his fellow Israelites still in captivity, the psalmist, though surrounded by tears, is confident that just as God had delivered the Israelites in the past from slavery and brought them back to Judah, He would do the same for the remaining exiles—bringing them back joyfully to the land.
Dear friends, when we pray with tears, the day will surely come when we will praise God with joy. Truly, things that seem like a dream will happen in our lives. The reason for this is that our God, even though something might seem impossible or like a dream, is able to make it real within His will. He sees the tears of our prayers and answers them. Our God is the one who listens to our earnest prayers and works mighty acts of salvation. Our God is the one who turns our sorrow into dancing. He grants us salvation and makes us rejoice and praise Him. As we look to the God of salvation with faith, I pray that we will be people who dream with Him.
Dreaming in the Lord,
Pastor James Kim
(In the early morning, ascending to the Lord’s house, remembering my loved ones as I pray before God)