In this sermon, Esther preaches from Psalm 126, a psalm that holds two realities side by side: the joy of what God has already done, and the ache of waiting for what he has not yet finished.
The psalm opens by looking back. The people remember a moment when God turned their situation around, and their joy was so overwhelming it felt almost like a dream. Esther invites us to stop and take stock of what God has done in our own lives, and to let gratitude and laughter have their place. Remembering God's faithfulness is not a nostalgic exercise but a source of strength and worship.
But the psalm doesn't end there. Midway through, the tone shifts to a prayer: do it again. The same people who celebrate God's past work are still longing for restoration. Esther explores what it means to live in this tension, where we are thankful for what has been fulfilled while we still wait, sometimes with tears, for what hasn't yet come. Joy and longing are not opposites, and faith can hold both at once.
The sermon closes with the psalm's image of sowing and reaping: those who sow in tears will harvest with shouts of joy. Waiting is not wasted time. It's a season of trusting that the God who has acted before will act again.
Key takeaways