“Here, O disciple of Jesus, behold an emblem of thy present labour, and thy future reward. Thou sowest, perhaps, in tears; thou dost thy duty amid persecution and affliction, sickness, pain, and sorrow; thou labourest in the church, and no account is made of thy labours; no profit seems likely to arise from them. Yet the day is coming when thou shalt reap in joy; and plentiful shall be thy harvest.” -Horne, by Benson Commentary

“Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy.
He who continually goes forth weeping,
Bearing precious seed for sowing,
Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing,
Bringing his sheaves with him.”

We sow in tears when we sow precious seed. What is the precious seed? It’s what you plant by obedience during times of persecution.

We all need the promise of reaping in joy. It doesn’t matter how we ended up where we are. We can still reap a harvest of joy.

In Psalm 126:1 the psalmist references the captivity of God’s chosen people and their long road from Babylon (captivity) to Judah (home). But how did they end up in captivity in the first place? The same way they always did. By fear and unbelief.

You might be in great pain right now, due to persecution for doing the right thing which is usually the hard thing, or you are experiencing great pain because you did something you shouldn’t have. The key to God pouring out His Spirit on your soil so you can reap a God-sized harvest is not letting yourself come under condemnation. Don’t believe the lie that God won’t rescue you because you got yourself into a mess. Every one of us can leave the place of wilderness wondering whenever we want to. God’s not holding us there. Unbelief in the character and nature of God leads to fear that He won’t come through for us, so we panic and freeze.

This week on the podcast I talk about prayer that changes things. We start a conversation, using the prayer model Jesus gave us. We discover the difference between prayer which enforces our fear and lack and prayer that moves mountains out of our way. And you can start that journey today.

It’s time to stop waiting for God to the move mountain that He told you to move!

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