Pain has a way of Screaming for our undivided attention

From April 3 of Diamoinds in the Dust, a devotional
by Joni Eareckson Tada

Sow in Tears

"Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy.  He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him."
Psalm 126:5-6

What a promise!  Think of it.  When you sow in tears, what a marvelous and abundant return you will enjoy on your investment.  "But," you may be thinking, "when have I ever gone out weeping, carrying seed to sow?"

If you have ever reached through an invisible wall of pain to embrace God with willful thanks, you have sown in tears.  If you've ever been rejected by a dear one and yet turned the other cheek in love, you have sown in tears.  If you have patiently endured physical affliction, or responded in love through a difficult marriage, then Psalm 126:5-6 could be your life verse.

Think of the pain young Elisabeth Elliot must have felt as she continued to serve as a missionary to the very South American Indians who had murdered her husband!  Truly, she sow the seed of God's Word in tears, but oh, the songs of joy that ring from the millions who have been touched by her testimony.

When you hurt physically or emotionally, it's hard to muster a patient or godly response. Pain has a way of screaming for our undivided attention.  But when you either offer a sacrifice of praise to God in the midst of your hurt, or respond in faith to a heartbreak or hardship, you are sowing in tears.  Take heart, for one day God will reward you with sheaves of joy--- all because you were faithful through tears.

Lord, thank You for the hope and help You offer me through my hurt.  Help me to remain faithful even though my tears sometimes blind my way.  May I remember that for every tear, there will be a song of eternal joy!