A Joyful Harvest

Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy.  

They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing as they return with the harvest.

Psalm 126:5-6

I just recently had one of those moments where I felt complete and total despair.  I was sad and angry and I could do nothing but cry out to God.  It was one of those good, loud cries that don't happen often.  It's not just from your eyes and mouth but your whole body joins in and your heart aches.  You could call it an ugly cry and for me it was most certainly that, I was in she shower as I let it all out and my body was shaking as I allowed the ache to escape me.  As the tears flowed the water from the shower washed me clean.  It was an extra long shower that day but when I stepped out, after all of the conversing back and forth with God, I felt renewed.  The tears were cleansing for my soul and the water from the warm shower felt exactly how I would imagine God's big arms wrapping around me.  

I am reminded, from this scripture above, that although things in life aren't easy and sometimes the road God leads me down is hard and produces heartache and tears, a harvest of joy will come eventually.  The tears that I am planting in right now will end up in shouts of joy!  My joy will sustain me and keep me going when the world says to stop, feel sorry for yourself. and refuse to go on.  What seeds are you planting this season and do they require some hard decisions, do they result in some painful circumstances?  Friend, my season is still not over, more pain is still to come, but instead of dreading that pain and worrying about the eventual hardship, I look forward to the harvest.  I anticipate the good that God is working on for me and I trust that He will never let me down.  My joy will keep me standing, my joy in my God who has been faithful through this whole journey!  Don't be afraid to plant in your tears.  Don't deny your body a good cry.  Accept that life is hard, and following Jesus is not safe, but choose to overcome.  Don't abandon your season but keep planting and cultivating until that right time when you will produce a beautiful, abundant harvest of blessings.  God is in charge and He is always thinking of those He loves, working all things out for their good.