Sowing with Tears

Those who sow with tears
will reap with songs of joy. (Psalm 126:5)

It was two weeks ago on Friday that we got the news that Jason Ray had been hit. A group of about eight students and four staff were sitting together doing leadership selection that was planned to go Friday night and all day Saturday. When we got the news Friday night, we immediately stopped, prayed, and called it a night.

The next morning I was praying and wondering and thinking: what the heck do we do now? I knew that leadership selection could easily go from 9 a.m. until 1 or 2 in the morning. Then the Lord brought to mind this passage and a sermonette I once read by John Piper

There are times in our lives when the tears just won't stop coming. And sometimes that means that we absolutely must stop, take some time, regroup, allow the pain to be processed. But sometimes there's work that must be done, and the tears just have to come with us. And so we have to simply say, "okay, tears, this day's work will be done with you." Sometimes the tears are co-mingled with our work, and that's just the way it has to be.

The Psalmist is writing this about the time of Babylonian captivity in this particular psalm. He writes to celebrate the faithful Israelites who did what needed to be done even while they were in captivity.

Sometimes we're in seasons of mourning, of captivity. It's just how it is. There are times to step back and mourn that, but there are also times where, really, we just need to suck it up and do what must be done, even with tears. Of course we see that perfectly done with Jesus this weekend in Gethsemane. And we do so leaning into the hope that there's reaping on the other side, and that reaping is profoundly and uniquely joy-filled.

And so two weeks ago, we sowed while we wept. I was proud of my students and the promise of reaping with songs of joy was realized as we wrapped up at 1 a.m. on Saturday night/Sunday morning with over 80 leaders set in place to serve for next year.