The psalmist recognized that some of us will sow in tears. Tears denote sorrow and pain. The sowing denotes planting that which will later bear fruit, i.e. sowing righteousness in obedience to God. The sowing is followed by reaping, which indicates there is purpose in the tears.

Life can be painful, sometimes excruciating. And contrary to the claims of some, I don’t always see God extracting his people from these times of difficulty. In fact, according to the psalmist, it was those who persevered through the pain that could look forward to promised rewards. Not only joy, but a bountiful harvest for their hard labor too.

I deny both reality and the experiences of God’s people throughout history if I claim that all we need is enough faith to make all our troubles go away. I also deny God’s purposes when I see sorrow and pain as pointless defeat.

We have an opportunity to demonstrate to everyone watching us that we serve a great God when we persevere through trials, difficulties, hardships, and heartaches. In fact, the greater the hardship, the bigger our statement for God, if we persevere. By doing so, we show that our God and Savior is greater than anything we could ever face in this lifetime. We believe that, don’t we? Can’t we see the testimony for our Savior in that?

Given the words of the psalmist, it may be best not to expect God to miraculously deliver us. I ask, but I don’t expect. That’s not to say God can’t, or even that he won’t. I simply acknowledge that his purposes are higher than mine, thanking him for the opportunity to deny my will, and looking forward to the eventual fulfillment of his promises, in his time. In the meantime, I will continue to sow. And I'll sow in tears if I have to, but make no mistake, I will continue to sow.