Slow Burn: The Work and Wonder of the WaitSample

Day 2: When Tears Fall

Love, God’s faithful love, proves itself time and time again. The story God has for you and me is one of waiting and finding love as faithful as the dawn—even while we are still in the dark. It is love that meets you in the dark and also brings the light.

Sometimes we are in the dark with the pain of life, feeling the impact of the illness or job loss, the betrayal or broken relationship. As painful as the season is, it gives us an opportunity to assess our priorities and values and move toward purification and growth.

But what about when we feel so broken that all we have to “sow” is tears? Receive the reassuring words of Psalm 126: “Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him” (vv. 5–6).

Here is a promise to hold on to in the dark! God says our tears are our seeds to sow and our season of sorrow will not last forever. The psalmist described eruptive joy and bountiful sheaves—bundles of harvested grain stalks, the result of much effort and patience.

Hannah sowed tears of trust and honesty. David sowed tears of repentance as he wept for the sins he had committed against God. The woman with the alabaster box sowed tears of adoration and worship. The common reality among them? They all eventually reaped their harvest with a heart of joy. “Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning” (Psalm 30:5 NIV).

“Jesus wept,” Scripture tells us (John 11:35). It’s a powerful statement revealing a Savior acquainted with our grief. The strongest man in history knew that surrendering his tears to the Father only made him stronger. After Jesus wept, he defeated the grave and redeemed every tear he had shed as Lazarus walked out of his grave.

Don’t mistake your tears as the final harvest of grief. No, friend, they are seeds, and every drop is an expression of faith in a God who redeems all.

REFLECT: What tears of grief are you sowing in surrender in this season or have you sown in seasons past?