From:  Mary Padgett Ministries, Inc.

A Word In Due Season

REAPING JOY

Scripture:  Psalms 126:5  "Those that sow in tears shall reap in joy."

God's laws do not change, and for every principle that He has established, He has set in motion rewards and consequences.  For the law of sowing, He guarantees a harvest.  This principle is true in the spiritual as well as the natural realm.  You will reap whatever you sow and it will always be of the same kind or manner.  In the natural, if you sow corn, you will reap corn and if you sow beans, you will reap beans.  It is a fairly simple process and the law works each and every time without fail.  You can't sow corn with the hopes of gathering beans.  It just won't work that way, for the law has been established by Almighty God who created the corn and the beans and commanded them to bring forth after their own kind.  Nature functions by God's word and can not go against His commands.

In the spiritual realm, it is the same.  If you sow good, you will reap good and if you sow evil, you will reap evil, but be sure that every seed you sow will produce a harvest of the same kind.  Every prayer that you have spoken in faith into the ears of God will receive an answer.  For His word says, "Whatever you shall ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive" (Matthew 21:22).  Every gift that you have given in the Name of the Lord will come back to you, for Jesus said, "Give and it shall be given unto you good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over shall men give unto your bosom.  For with the same measure that you give, it shall be measured to you again" (Luke 6:38).  Every burden that you carry for someone else will generate spiritual strength in your own life and every tear that you sow will reap a harvest of joy.  What mighty promises these are to encourage us to pray and to share with others, and what a comfort and sweet assurance to our hearts to know that when our tears are falling like rain we are sowing seeds for a harvest of joy.

We may think that holding back our tears in our distress and discouragement displays strength.  In reality, it takes much more strength and energy to cry.  If you have ever grieved over a personal loss or shed tears of sorrow because of the pain in your soul, you know how weak it left you.  Tears completely drain your body's strength and leave your soul and spirit spent.  Yet there will be a harvest from those tears and you can rest assured that when you have nothing left within, God will begin to use those tears to bring something beautiful into your life.  He is a keeper of His promises and watches over His word to perform it.  Just like the flowers that come forth after the spring rains, God creates new life within you, waters it with your tears, and He causes a harvest to spring up within your soul and spirit.  You can be sure that the word He has spoken is true and where you have sown tears, you will reap joy. +++

Copyright © 2008 Mary Padgett Ministries. All Rights Reserved