Psalm 137 - Memories Can Be Painful

1 By the rivers of Babylon, There we sat down, yea, we wept When we remembered Zion. 2 We hung our harps Upon the willows in the midst of it. 3 For there those who carried us away captive asked of us a song, And those who plundered us requested mirth, Saying, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!" 4 How shall we sing the LORD'S song In a foreign land? 5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem, Let my right hand forget its skill! 6 If I do not remember you, Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth-- If I do not exalt Jerusalem Above my chief joy. 7 Remember, O LORD, against the sons of Edom The day of Jerusalem, Who said, "Raze it, raze it, To its very foundation!" 8 O daughter of Babylon, who are to be destroyed, Happy the one who repays you as you have served us! 9 Happy the one who takes and dashes Your little ones against the rock! I am so thankful and grateful for your prayers for our current trip to Amman Jordan. We had a safe and long flight here with our wonderful team. We arrived last night around 5:30 pm and went directly to the GPPD Relief Center about 35 minutes away where we will be staying for the entire time here. We met with the Pastor of the Grace Church and went to our rooms for some rest. This morning we had breakfast with the team in Jon’s apartment and Kristi Robers gave us a wonderful and very helpful devotion from Joshua 5 called “Lectio Divina”. After that we had the opportunity to go across the street to the Relief Center and minister to over 25 Syrian women refugees in the first group. Kristi share her heart in a very moving way as she shared God’s love and hope with them.  Jonathan also shared a wonderful message with them. Afterwards, they all received a large bag of food items and another bag of cleaning supplies. We immediately received another group of over 25 Syrian women refugees. Anita Geiger share her testimony with them and assure this group also of God’s love for them during this difficult time of their lives. I was also about to share a few minutes with them about living a life that has meaning and value despite the conditions we might be going through! After I finished, they asked Jonathan how old I was. He asked them how old they thought I was and many of them replied that I was probably around 95 years old! Wow!!!! We all had a good laugh about that! We really felt like we connected to them and heard that they made many positive comments to our translator as they were leaving. They also receive the same relief items as the first group.   We met with the pastor of Grace Church and his wife and children for lunch together. They shared their journey of faith that brought them to Amman and how the Lord always marvelously has provided for them. It was very moving and inspiring! I wish everyone could have heard it that is reading this blog. Today, we also want to begin our chats on Psalm 137. Psalm 137 was probably written by a Levite after he had returned home from Babylon with the remnant in 536 B. C. Twenty years later, Babylon would be destroyed. It appears that the psalmist was with a group of former exiles (note the "we" and "us" in vv. 1-4), recalling some of their experiences from their time of captivity in Babylon.  Many of those memories opened old wounds and were very painful!  But from this encounter with the past, the psalmist learned some lessons about the human memory, himself, and the Lord.  You will notice that the words, "Remember" and "forget" are used a total of five times in these nine verses. This chapter will help us to learn to deal with our bitter memories God’s way so we might find healing for the bitterness they might have brought into our lives. We are ministering to precious refugees here in Amman this week who have tragic memories and a very painful past for the most part. Please keep us in your prayers as we share God’s love and His Son with them! God bless!