Psalm 126 Devotional

Seeds Sown in Tears

“Those who sow in tears will reap with shouts of joy.”Psalm 126:5 (BSB)

Psalm 126 holds two moments together. First comes a memory. When the LORD brought Zion's captives home, it felt like a dream. Their mouths were filled with laughter and shouts of joy, and even the nations said the LORD had done great things for them (126:1-2). The people agree, and they are full of joy (126:3).

Then the psalm turns to present need. They ask God to restore them again, like streams flowing back into the Negev (126:4). Past joy gives them a reason to ask. The closing picture is a farmer who goes out weeping as he carries his seed, and comes home with shouts of joy, his arms full of sheaves (126:5-6). Tears and sowing happen together. The psalm does not call sorrow pleasant, only that in God's hands it is not wasted. Jesus promised his grieving disciples that sorrow would give way to joy (John 16:20). Sorrow carried to God can become a kind of planting, and he brings the harvest.

To think about: What past work of God could you remember today as a reason to ask him to restore what is dry now?