Skip to main content

Wednesday... After planting there is rest and rejoicing.


Wednesday... After planting there is rest and rejoicing.

In my starting each morning with my thanksgiving I usually start with thanking God for a good night of rest and for the opportunity of a new day. The night cleanses us and shuts the door on yesterday and the morning sun comes up with a new chance, a new privilege and a new opportunity. Tomorrow is over and today has begun. But there are situations that do come from yesterday but we can look at them in a new perspective, in a new way, as a new challenge. Thanks God for the good night of rest and thanks for a new day of opportunity.

The Psalmist writes in Psalm 126:4-6 (NLT), "Restore our fortunes, Lord, as streams renew the desert. Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy. They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing as they return with the harvest."

It is so good for us before we go to sleep to stop and give to God the concerns and the difficulties and the challenges that we faced in our day. We give him the tears, the frustrations, the fears and then in confidence go to sleep knowing that he will be at work. Even when I wake up in the night with a concern or a problem, I stop and pray. I give it to God. And it usually means that I think about it for awhile and then fall asleep knowing that I have given it to God and that he will work on it as I sleep. 

That is a part of the planting. We cannot harvest without planting. There is work, there is planting, there is preparing but at the end of the day we give it to God and then we rest in confidence. 

The farmer after he plants the seed may take care of some weeds but the truth is there is nothing for him to do but rest and wait and then when he harvests he rejoices. 

The Message says verses 4-6 this way. It says, "And now, God, do it again - bring rains in the drought-stricken lives. So those who planted their crops in despair will shout, 'Yes' at the harvest. So those who went off with heavy hearts will come home laughing, with armloads of blessing."

Now verses 1-3 (NLT) says, "When the Lord brought back his exiles to Jerusalem, it was like a dream! And the other nations said, 'What amazing things the Lord has done for them.' Yes, the Lord has done amazing things for us! What joy."

Thanks, God for the amazing things you do for us! Yes, yes! #todaysbeginning 

 

 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Friday... Yes, we need them. We really do

Psalm 8:3-4 (NLT), "When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers - the moon and the stars you set in place - what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them?" Friday... Yes, we need them. We really do. No, not the fact that I can go out my front door and look out at night at the marvels of the sky. I can do that and it is amazing and it takes my breath away each time I see it. Yes, that is a fact but the reality of who did that and the wisdom and the faith that I have to believe that and to marvel that the one who did that cares about me makes such a difference in how I live my life. Yes, God really does. That is so wonderful for us to believe. And that is why faith and wisdom are so important. Now whatever belief you have at how that marvel happened must also be believed through faith. And the sad thing to me is that more and more people have been taught that there is no God and therefore he did not have a h...

Monday... Three ifs and two thens. They go together!

Monday... Three ifs and two thens. They go together! They really do. And this is what caught my attention this morning as I was reading Proverbs 2. Verse 1 (NRSVUE) says, "My child, if you accept my words and treasure my commands within you." Verse 3 (NIV), "Indeed i f you call  out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, Verse 4, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, Verse 5, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God." And verses 9-11, " Then you will understand what is right and just and fair - every good path. For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you." There will always be some effort we must do, some ifs for the thens to be realized in our lives. So many of us want to understand without the ifs. But the thens are so worth, so very worth the effort. Verses 5-6 in the Ampli...

Wednesday... Our unless can turn into useless.

Wednesday... Our unless can turn into useless.  It really can. I have found that unless I give the correct email of my wife then I can't get what I wanted. I put an extra i in her email and I have been working for 5 days to get it changed. Unless has been useless. The writer of Psalm 94 uses this word and shows how important it is. Verses 17-19 (NLT) says, "Unless the Lord had helped me, I would have soon settled in the silence of the grave. I cried out, 'I'm slipping!' but your unfailing love, O Lord, supported me. When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer." "Unless the Lord had helped me." So many people go on and on and on striving to live their life on their own but they keep slipping and doubting and living without hope and cheer. Yes the Lord has such unfailing love for us, he really does but unless we have a relationship with him and we turn to him and ask him for help then the unless turns in to useless because h...