"Let the redeemed of the Lord say so." Psalm 107 is one of my favorite psalms because it reminds me, with its rich literary parallels, that it is only because of what God has done in me that I may speak of it. Must we not have gone through the hard journey, and been made new in the midst, in order to be able to articulate the depths and heights of grace?
Those who have gone through the desert wasteland of depression, and God gave a way through, are able to truly give praise. Those who were imprisoned in the darkness of sin, and God granted release, are able to articulate true freedom. Those who have been sick and grieved, and God poured out healing, are able to speak of wholeness in Him. Those who have sailed through the storms and throes of life, and found stillness, are able to truly give thanks.
The psalm closes with a poetic expression of grace, which turns rivers into deserts and also turns deserts into pools of water. It destroys and restores. Turnabout is God's play. Grace works through our ups and downs, and we find voice to speak of God's way through, God's release, God's healing, and God's stillness. Lord, you have given me something to speak, and I am grateful for the journey.
