SOAP Journal 04-25-2008 (Psalm 126:4-6)

Scripture:

Psalm 126:4-6 O Lord, restore our well-being, just as the streams in the arid south are replenished. Those who shed tears as they plant will shout for joy when they reap the harvest. The one who weeps as he walks along, carrying his bag of seed, will certainly come in with a shout of joy, carrying his sheaves of grain.

Observation:

Tears turning to joy as God grants the harvest is human response to favor or grace. It is in hopelessness and full expectation of continued famine that the sower cries; all is futile and a waste. Then God sends His rain, restoring the land and "our well-being" and the crops grow thick and healthy. The joy of the reaper explodes into a shout at the sheer delight that God has visited His people.

Application:

In the midst of discouraging news and troubled times, the harvest would seem to be so meager as to make us sour in even spreading God's seed, the Good News of His kingdom. Why bother? What's the use? Yet as He waters His word by His Spirit, He causes it to grow. To see the church as an organic entity, a planting of the Lord, is to see the seed and the harvest both. The sower (the intrepid disciple or even a mass-evangelist) can get discouraged, the well may have dried up. But it's God Who grants the increase.

Prayer:

O Father, You know that I have completely ceased as a sower of seed. It is sin, but born of futility and fear. I pray You remove those both and replace them with expectancy and trust. Then Your seed will be planted and You can grant the increase. In Jesus' Name, Amen.