The psalmist describes the Lord's past provision as a dream come true. However, his community is in need of that provision again. In Psalm 126, he compares their faith in God during their difficult times to the farmer's work. The farmer, even when grain is scarce and famine is not far away, in faith he takes a portion of his harvest and sows it as seed for a future harvest. He does not place all his hope in the here and now, but faithfully works toward the future harvest, trusting in God's provision for the present and the future.
Lord, we love to celebrate the days of harvest, when your plentiful provision abounds in our lives. And there are so many psalms that help us sing your praise in these days of joyful abundance. However, our faith is not just for the seasons of joy. Our faith also equips us to face the days of sowing in tears. The days when each handful of seed that is scattered represents sacrifices we have made in the past and present, times we've gone without, times we've gone hungry, because we know that life is not just about the here and now, but our hope primarily is in the future, and we work toward that great harvest to come. So we don't consume all the grain we have, even in days of scarcity, but we save some for the future, trusting you and your provision, Lord. Maybe sowing in tears refers not only to scarcity, but also to drought, when there is no guarantee the rain will come, and no guarantee that the seed we sow will ever spring to life. Lord, when our lives feel like sowing in tears, when it feels like scarcity in the present and uncertainty for the future, grant that we might continue to sow, continue to be faithful, and slowly fill our hearts back up with hope. We can trust in you. You will bring the harvest. Just as you do year after year, you provide for us. Even in the midst of the famous famine of Joseph's days that lasted seven long years, you provided.
Lord, some of us are sowing in tears in terms of the coronavirus pandemic. We don't know when it will end. Yet we pray, help us continue working toward the future, trusting your provision. Sustain us and buoy us up with hope in you again, we pray, in Jesus' name, amen.
