Opening to Psalm 126, I read the heading in my Bible: Remembrance of past blessing.
“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, NLT)
There is powerful purpose in remembering the many things God has done in our lives. for when we forget the past, we forget and/or overlook (or minimize) what God can yet do.
As we remember and express our hope in what God can yet do, others will notice how we are placing our hope in God.
Our families, friends, co-workers, and neighbors need to see this at work in our lives so they, too, will find hope when they are discouraged.
Regarding the psalmist:
“He has hope that those who go out weeping will come back with joy, carrying with them the abundance of harvest that their seeds have sown.”
(from Trust, by The Daily Grace Co., page 43)
These words caused me to question – What seeds am I sowing?
The harvest comes from the seeds we sow.
The planting of seeds, in the hearts of people who have wandered away, is hard and prolonged work. A daily tending of watering, weeding, and fertilizing takes place and often goes unnoticed. One may even wonder if the hard work will yield a result as the days stretch on.
From the above mentioned study, three needed actions were pointed out as being necessary:
- We must remember what God has done.
- We must respond to what He has done.
- We must hope He will cause our lives to reap blessing.
We plant our seeds with weeping.
Then one day those hearts return to God’s truth,
restoring joy and celebration in our hearts.
We can so easily jump to conclusions, and often those conclusions can be incorrect. When grace is offered, we never forget the lesson learned. In her post, Don’t Jump to Conclusions (HERE), Lisa Burgess reminds us “to jump quicker to grace and tread slower to conclusions.”
Come, sit a spell. Bring your coffee, your posts, and your thoughts. If you link up, kindly visit those who have drawn up a seat around you.
Photo by Nine Köpfer on Unsplash
A lovely post Joanne.
One that was very timely for me today when we get a little sad at seeing those who once walked with the Lord walking further & further away from Him.
But always remembering what God is doing & what He will do with the harvest that we are yet to see. We continue to work & love until He calls us home.
Blessings, Jennifer
Planting seeds in hope.
Remembering what God has done for us in the past gives us great confidence for the present and future. I’m so thankful He is always the same and has promised never to leave us or forsake us.
God so wants us to remember what He’s done for us – as a tool for the harvest – and to show our love for Him. It surprised me all the times I read God’s disappointment that His children have forgotten Him – in a way, just like I don’t want my children to forget how much I love loved them.
This is a lesson I always need to be reminded of. I get too carried away worried about the future, but when I take the time to look back at the past (even the hard times), I see grace and find reason to hope for the future. Thanks for featuring my post this week!
What seeds am I sowing? The harvest comes from the seeds we sow. Thanks for this excellent reminder to carefully choose your seeds.
Psalm 126 figures prominently in a talk in HOPE that I am preparing. And as a gardener, that lull between seed and harvest can feel pretty risky— unless our hope is in the right place.
This arrests me, Joanne, “What seeds am I sowing? The harvest comes from the seeds we sow.” Poignant reminder!
Joanne, what a great question. What seeds am I planting? I hope I’m planting good seeds through my prayers because there are some that are offered with tears. There doesn’t seem to be another opportunity to “plant” right now.
So thankful that joy comes in the morning. That those seeds that were planted, carefully or carelessly, can be nurtured by His watching eye and tender loving care. Thank You, Jesus …