Joy Uncovered

A Reflection on the Psalm for April 3rd, 2022:
​Fifth Sunday of Lent

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Psalm 126

R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy. 

R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

Then it was said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.” The Lord has done great things for us, and we rejoiced. 

R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like the watercourses in the desert of the Negev. May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy. 

R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

Those who go out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, carrying their sheaves. 

R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

In the tranquility of my backyard, on the warmest day of March to date – feeding the birds and listening to their song’s promise of springtime – it’s easy to be filled with joy. I live in a small city in a peacekeeping country. My worries are few, and my life is comfortable. I am very fortunate. That’s what I consider these exterior circumstances to be – good fortune. I did nothing to deserve being born into this particular society at this particular time. I don’t know why I get to live among the one percent of the world who share in this fortunate circumstantial reality. I am, however, very grateful to God that I do. Most are not so fortunate. And they did nothing to deserve that, either.


I didn’t always enjoy this place of fortune. I have walked a number of deserts on the path to my current place. The defining disposition between the deserts of late, when I walked the hot, dry sands with Jesus at my side, and the deserts of the past, when I was parched, desperate and clamouring for something unholy to quench my thirst, is one of joy. This joy had no business residing in me, as I faced great difficulties and looked into an uncertain future. Just the same, there it was, and here it is still. 


I came to know Jesus only six years ago. I came to know His joy maybe three years after. The joy seems to have turned up once my roots had grown down to a depth where, no matter the weather, I was drinking from a watercourse running far beneath the surface. I came to trust in God. I may not always agree with Him or approve of His methods, but in the darkest places I learned to hold fast to His goodness.


Joy is found in the docility of an open heart to receive whatever the Lord chooses to place in it. When He places His grace in our hearts, it will stir emotion – but not always a happy one. Perhaps, initially, pain arises, or grief, or regret. His grace may strike fear in our hearts, deep sadness, even anger is possible. And joy, not being an emotion but a disposition, resides alongside the plethora of emotion that stirs within, like a stabilizer and an indicator that God is with us. It is a promise that He has given us His grace, and He will see us through whatever strife we find ourselves in. Joy is the revelation of His steadfastness of love, a tie that binds us to Him as our lives travel deserts and fortunes. Always present, never changing, ever beautiful.


Gentle Father, thank You for all that You have given me, for it is far more than enough. Even if I find myself in a place of grave loss, help me to trust in You so that my joy may continue.


​“Let no man say to You, 'What is this or why is this?' He must not say it, he must not say it. For he is a man.” (Saint Augustine)




Lori MacDonald
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