Tears Make Good Fertilizer

We sang a sweet hymn at the end of evening service last night. The third verse reads:

"Morning and evening sow the seed, God's grace the effort shall succeed.

Seed-times of tears have oft been found with sheaves of joy and plenty crowned."
Words: Basil Manly, Jr. (1825-1892)

Recently I have been surrounded by some dear friends whom the Lord, in His good and strange providence, has called to sow seeds this season with their tears. In the midst of their loss and heartbreak, God consistently shows Himself to be sufficient for their every need and proves Himself worthy of their hope and trust.

Unlike my tendency to be harsh and tough, God has not called them to "suck it up" and get over it. He sweetly sympathizes with them in their weakness, equips them for what He has called them to, and endures all things with them.

The faithfulness of these friends in the midst of their sorrow convicts me of how conditional my obedience to and trust in the Lord is. When I am sad or even just cranky, I excuse myself from having to be faithful. But God ordains storm clouds and tears for our good - Not that we would stop being faithful, but that we would persevere and trust in Him.

May those who sow in tears

reap with shouts of joy!

He that goes forth weeping,

bearing the seed for sowing,

shall come home with shouts of joy,

bringing his sheaves with him.
- Psalm 126:5-6

What a sweet promise that when tears fall onto the seeds we sow, the harvest will be ripe with blessing.

John Piper says: "This psalm teaches the tough truth that there is work to be done whether I am emotionally up for it or not; and it is good for me to do it. Suppose you are in a blue funk and it is time to sow seed. Do you say, “I can’t sow the field this spring, because I am in a blue funk.” If you do that you will not eat in the winter.

But suppose you say, “I am in a blue funk. I cry if the milk runs out at breakfast. I cry if the phone and doorbell ring at the same time. I cry for no reason at all. But the field needs to be sowed. That is the way life is. I do not feel like it, but I will take my bag of seeds and go out in the fields and do my crying while I do my duty. I will sow in tears.”

Read the whole article here, it is worth the next 5 minutes of your life to consider this truth: http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/taste-see-articles/talking-to-your-tears