I have heard all my life that those who mourn and grieve will be rewarded with joy in return… that if you sow tears, you will reap joy. Jesus said that He came heal the brokenhearted and He does! But the Psalm does not tell us that sowing tears results in joy.
Psalm 126:5-6 (NIV)Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him. There is an eternal law of sowing and reaping. Whatever a person sows is what that person will reap. No farmer ever planted corn and expected to harvest a crop of rice. What you sow, you will reap. An axiom to this law is that when you plant, you must be purposeful about planting. You cannot step out of front door and throw your seed to the wind and expect a harvest. Seed is planted in soil that is prepared for the seed. Another axiom is that when you plant, you expect a harvest. You believe that what you planted will produce plants of like kind.
The funny thing is that a majority of us want to harvest what we have not planted. We want a harvest of righteousness in our lives, but we don’t plant any righteous acts (in Jesus’ name) to produce a harvest of righteousness. In fact Psalm 18 tells us:
20 The LORD has dealt with me according to my righteousness;
according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me.
23 I have been blameless before him
and have kept myself from sin.
24 The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
25 To the faithful you show yourself faithful,
to the blameless you show yourself blameless,
26 to the pure you show yourself pure,
There may be plenty of righteous acts, but they are not sown with an expectation of a harvest of righteousness. See how the Psalmist speaks of sowing? He kept himself blameless. He didn’t do things that he knew would dishonor the Lord. He kept himself away from sin. He sowed faithfulness and expected to find faithfulness to come back to him. He sowed purity and received a harvest of purity.
What does this have to do with sorrow, tears, grief, and loss? There is clear direction in this Psalm about how to deal with our loss. When we lose what is precious to us, when grief strikes us due to a great loss, tears of sorrow begin to flow. The secret is to begin to sow with the expectation of a harvest even while you weep over your loss. While you are mourning, find someone else who has a need and sow kindness into them. You will receive a harvest of kindness with great joy and celebration. Even though your own heart is broken, begin to sow seeds of encouraging phone calls to someone who is in distress and expect a multiplied harvest of encouragement to come back to you.
God has a great harvest for you to reap with exceedingly great joy. You must first plant to enjoy a harvest. As you go out weeping with seed in your hand to plant, know without any doubt that you will return in joy carrying your harvest with you.
Don’t sow tears. Sow during the tears. Whatever a man sows the same shall he also reap. Begin sowing now for a great harvest later.
