“They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him” (Psalm 126:5-6).
The principle of sowing and reaping will always prove to be doubtless in our lives. “Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap” (Galatians 6:7b). It’s especially important to remember this truth when you face obstacles. No matter how bad things get, you’ve got to keep sowing seeds aimed at turning your situation around for the better. As long as you have seed, you have hope.
There’s an interesting account in the Bible about a widow who was left with a large debt when her husband died. She faced the horrible threat that a creditor was coming to take her two sons as slaves. When she turned to the prophet Elisha for help, he gave an interesting response.
“What do you have in the house?” he asked (2 Kings 4:2). She responded that she had nothing in the house but a jar of oil. Elisha then told her to borrow as many empty vessels as she could and pour her oil into the vessels. The widow followed his instructions, and miraculously, when she poured out her jar of oil, the oil didn’t stop until all the vessels were full. Elisha then told her to sell the oil to pay her debt and live on the rest.
Elisha understood the value of planting a seed when you face a need. In other words, we need to look for opportunities to take steps of faith that will change our situation.
When my wife, Christin, was four years old, she was diagnosed with a very serious form of cancer and was given only a small chance of surviving. While hearing a report like that can be devastating, her dad, Tommy Garrard, sat down with a Bible and a piece of paper. He began to look up scriptures about God’s power to heal sickness. He wrote down the references so he and his wife, Diane, could look them up again and meditate on their truth.
This practice built their faith and over the next few months as Christin received treatment, they prayed and believed for God to heal their daughter. Indeed, she was completely healed, and she has gone on to live a perfectly healthy lifestyle.
What Tommy did was an example of what the psalmist wrote about sowing in tears. I’m sure in the natural, he wanted to cry when he heard the awful medical report. But he knew that crying alone wouldn’t make his daughter better. He had to plant some seeds of hope and faith, so he turned to the scriptures. In the end, he reaped in joy when he saw his desire come to pass.
Don’t underestimate the power of a step of faith. Even the smallest seed can be extremely valuable. Notice that the psalmist referred to the seed as “precious” seed. The seed is precious because it has unlimited potential with the blessing of God.
Sometimes, your situation is so bad, there’s no earthly way it could change. But God is not limited to natural means; he can bring supernatural change. So, even if you’re facing a huge challenge today, sow some precious seeds of faith.
“And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart” (Galatians 6:9).
Reflections 