Daily devotional · November 1
Sown in Tears, Reaped in Joy
“When the LORD restored the captives of Zion, we were like dreamers. Then our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with shouts of joy. Then it was said among the nations, “The LORD has done great things for them.” The LORD has done great things for us; we are filled with joy. Restore our captives, O LORD, like streams in the Negev. Those who sow in tears will reap with shouts of joy. He who goes out weeping, bearing a trail of seed, will surely return with shouts of joy, carrying sheaves of grain.”
The people in this psalm remember a moment when God turned their situation around so completely that it felt like a dream. Then they ask Him to do it again, because they are in need once more. Notice that gratitude for the past and honesty about the present sit side by side. The psalm also pictures farmers who plant seed while crying, trusting that the work of a hard season is not wasted. As November begins and the year moves toward harvest, it is a good time to ask what you have been sowing quietly, perhaps with tears, and what God has already grown from earlier seasons. Today, write down one thing God turned around for you in the past, then thank Him for it out loud and ask Him to do it again where you are waiting now. Let memory feed your hope.
Prayer
Lord, thank You for what You have already turned around in my life. Give me patience to keep sowing while I wait for the harvest. Amen.