As the Israelites remember their oppression in captivity, they praise God for His great power in setting them free and bringing them back to their homeland.
But when they return they find it totally destroyed. The fields are dirt brown and there is little food to eat.
All they have are a few precious seeds that hold the promise of a future harvest. With backbreaking work and tears, they sow those seeds into the earth. With faith and patience they wait.
In a few weeks those few seeds have been transformed into a great harvest, and the workers return from the fields with great rejoicing, carrying their sheaves in their arms.
Psalm 126:5-6 They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.
There is much to be distressed about in the world today — crime, war, politics, disease, death, sin, evil, etc.
If we can learn to keep our hearts focused on the Lord and all that He has done for us, it will go a long way toward giving us joy even in the midst of trials.
Make God and His gracious gifts the focus of your joy, then you can rejoice regardless of what is happening around you.
Ideas for this unprofitable blog are taken from The Sermon Notebook—Biblical resources for preachers and teachers of the word of God. They allow these sermons to be used as the Lord leads but not for profit.
