Songs from the Heart Day 28 Psalms 126 and 127

Meditate on the Psalms

Reread Psalms 126-127.

I’m a farmer’s daughter. Though I live in a city now, each spring I have an inexplicable urge to plant flowers, to coax beauty from the dirt. After the cold months of winter, I find myself scanning my flower beds for the first signs of spring: hyacinth, tulips, and daffodils—symbols of hope after the bleakness of winter. 

So, when I read Psalm 126, it’s the agricultural imagery that captures my attention. Psalm 126 celebrates Israel’s return from exile, and the final two verses (vv. 5-6) eloquently express the beauty of what he’s done. Those who plant with tears, will harvest with joy. Those who sow in sorrow will ultimately rejoice. The ones who left with heavy hearts will one day harvest more blessings than they can count. 

If you’re anything like me, you’ve lived through a few sorrowful seasons. Life has not always been beautiful or easy, but the hope the psalmist promised us here is that those who faithfully trust the Lord in the darkest seasons and seek to live for him will ultimately harvest blessings and joy. 

That doesn’t mean that life is magically easier and better in an instant. If you’ve grown any type of plant or vegetable, you know that there’s a lot of time between planting and harvest. Plus, bountiful harvests don’t just happen. During the growing season when it feels like nothing is happening, the farmer has to faithfully tend the crop, carefully removing weeds that would crowd or endanger the harvest, plowing, fertilizing, and irrigating. Right now may be a season of sorrow for you, but it’s also a time to dig deep, to invest and pour into your relationship with God. It may seem like nothing is happening, but God is faithful and his harvest is sure. 

But the caution of Psalm 127 is clear: God is the one bringing the blessings, not you. “Unless God builds the house, the work of the builders is wasted,” Solomon wrote in verse 1. “Unless the Lord protects the city,” he continued, “guarding it with sentries will do no good” (NLT). You can work your fingers to the bone trying to make sure that you get that next promotion or that your kids have the best, but it’s all worthless if you’re trying to do that in your own power and strength. You will fail; you will make mistakes; no matter how you try, you can’t avoid seasons of sorrow and tears. 

But you can choose to trust God through it all. He is faithful to bring a harvest, and he loves to bless his children with rest. Today, stop your striving and rest in the love of the One who is the giver of every good thing. Stop your planning and pause the endless flurry of activity. The only thing you need to do is submit to God in this season of sorrow and allow him to do the work that will bring a harvest. His harvest is sure—and it doesn’t depend on what you can do for him but what he can do in you.