Sowing Tears, Reaping Joy (Psalm 126)

Psalm 126 Restore Our Fortunes, O Lord

“Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy!” (v. 5)

1) We remember. (v. 1-5)

Matthew 7:9-11 “Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”

James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” 

Luke 7:22 “And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them.”

“God in His love always wills what is best for us. In His wisdom He always knows what is best, and in His sovereignty He has the power to bring it about.” Jerry Bridges, Trusting God

“God knows exactly what He intends we become and He knows exactly what circumstances, both good and bad, are necessary to produce that result in our lives.” Jerry Bridges, Trusting God

Psalm 126:2b “then they said among the nations, “The LORD has done great things for them.”

2) Help again! (v. 4-6)

John 16:20 “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.”

"He went forth weeping, sowing drops of bloody sweat, sowing with pierced hands and feet that dropped with blood. He went forth sowing living seeds of love, and they are springing up today already in the glory and the multitudes that are gathered into it; and soon, in the coming and the superior splendour that shall envelop it, the Christ who sowed in tears will reap in joy.” Charles Spurgeon

How are you asking God to come through for you today? What do you believe about God’s heart for you? Do you trust He is a good Father, or do you wonder if He is holding out on you?

Romans 10:9 “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Hebrews 12:2 “looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Luke 19:10 “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Matthew 18:12b-13 “What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray.

Revelation 21:2-5

“There is not a single drop of gall which will not turn to honey. There is not this day one drop of sweat upon your aching brow but shall crystallise into a pearl for your everlasting crown; not one pang of aguish or disappointment but shall be transmuted into celestial glory, to increase your joy, world without end.” Charles Spurgeon

When you think about the Great Story – looking back to the cross and forward to the consummation – how does that change your waiting now?

Reflect:

What have you seen God do?

·      How has God come through for you?

·      What has He given you that you do not deserve?

What are you waiting for today?

·      What burdens you? What makes your heart heavy?

·      Where are you sowing in tears?

Do you remember what God did for you on the cross?

·      Do you remember that He has already given you the greatest gift?

·      Does that shape how you wait?

Do you live with hope that God will make all things new?

·      Do you trust His character, that He really will undo every injustice and resolve every tension of heartache?

·      What does that hope do for your heart today?