“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.” (Psalm 126:5-6 NIV)

These verses follow right on the heels of the verse from last week’s post. This psalm is a “Song of Ascent,” one of the psalms written post-captivity and sung by the Hebrew people as they journeyed (“ascended”) to the temple for the annual feasts.  In this psalm, the people are singing about being returned to Zion after their captivity. That’s the celebration behind the verse from last week (“The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy,” v. 3) and the background of today’s verses. Tears had indeed been sown as the people went into captivity; now the people are reaping with songs of joy as they experience God’s grace and the fulfillment of His promises to them.

Many times in my life–times when tears flowed often–I took comfort in these verses. I felt that I was indeed “sowing in tears.”  The picture is of a farmer tearfully carrying his seed to the field and doing the day’s work. He must. He has no choice if he wants any kind of harvest. The seed must be sown despite the tears. Time passes. The seed grows. Finally, the farmer heads to the field and reaps the harvest with great joy.

Farmers understand waiting and the need for patience as the fields grow. We too need to discover patience in our times of tears. The point is, the farmer did not let the tears keep him from the task at hand. He sowed. So I must keep moving, even when tears flow. I have life to live, jobs to do, responsibilities to fulfill.

What should we sow in those difficult times? We could sow anger, bitterness, discord, frustration, lack of faith. We could sow sin or revenge. Sowing in that way, however, will not bring a harvest of joy. Instead, we will “reap what we sow” (as Paul said in Galatians 6:7) and the harvest will be more tears.

In order to reap joy, we should sow seeds that will grow into the fruit of the Spirit. Sow seeds of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness. and self-control.

Sow these seeds, along with your tears, and then wait. Patiently. The harvest will come. The seed will mature. The tears will end and you will return with songs of joy, carrying the harvest with you.