“Those who sowed in tears will reap with joy.”
Psalm 126:5-6
5 “Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy!
6 He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.”
There is a promise in the Bible that gives us a foundation — a well-grounded hope, a firm confidence — that better days lie ahead. It shows that God is a Specialist who turns weeping (captivity, pain, humiliation, long years of waiting) into joy and transforms the seeds sown into a harvest.
Psalm 126 speaks of a great spiritual principle:
God knows how to turn our tears into our harvest.
This is one of the most important spiritual laws in the Bible:
Through tears find joy; through the process of sowing, reap harvest.
- Sowing is labor and faithfulness.
Sowing is an archetype of hard work. It’s when we can relate to a farmer who goes out into the field and works in heat and in cold. He casts the seeds into the ground and does not see the result right away, but he continues to labor.
It is the same in our lives. We pray. We serve. We teach our children. We preach, we build the church. Still, we do not see the fruit immediately. Nevertheless, the Bible encourages us to keep working, even when the “weather” is unfavorable.
Ecclesiastes 11:4 (ESV)
“He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap.”
Galatians 6:9 (ESV)
“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”
- Tears are not the end of the story.
The Psalm says: “Those who sowed in tears…”
Tears are a picture of pain, trials, waiting, and spiritual struggle. Sometimes we sow in tears because our flesh does not want to work ( it is hard to discipline ourselves), we are tired, we do not see results over a long time, we only see hardship, and the labor is often very hard and prolonged.
But God calls us to sow!
Sowing requires from us:
• constant victory over ourselves,
• victory over present circumstances,
• continuous stepping out of our comfort zone.
Historical context with tears turning to seeds. In ancient Israel’s difficult times, people were sometimes left with very little grain. A part of the grain had to be eaten for survival. And the other part had to be sown, otherwise there would be no future harvest.
Sometimes people sowed their last, in tears. They wept because they understood: this was what could have been their last food. But if they did not sow, they would have no future. That is why the Psalm reads: “Those who sowed in tears will reap with shouts of joy.” It is a picture of people who sow even when it is extraordinarily difficult.
God never said there would be no tears. But He promises that tears are not the end of the story.
- Nothing sowed, no harvest gained.
This is one of the most down-to-earth spiritual laws. We will reap only what we sow.
Galatians 6:7 (ESV)
“Whatever one sows, he shall also reap.”
God promised a harvest, but He did not promise one without sowing.
A decisive role is given to the person in the process of sowing and reaping. We must not “sit with folded hands,” waiting for God to perform a miracle. We must go out and sow the needed seeds amidst tears, praying that the Lord will be faithful.
When we understand that God trusts us to sow, then we can move on to the question of the importance of what we sow. So the question is: What do we sow?
When we sow prayers, love, salvation, wholesome communication, victory, service with our gifts, the preaching of the Gospel, faithfulness, the fruit of the Spirit, etc. — the harvest will come! And we will reap more — more salvations, more fellowship, restored families, spiritual growth — the glory of God!
Galatians 6:8
“The one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.”
This means God wants us to sow seeds of goodness, of His kingdom, and of salvation.
Now that we have understood:
- that we need to sow, and
- what we need to sow,
- It is good to think about how we sow.
It is not enough just to sow; it is not enough just to sow good seeds. We can do so generously and constantly, but we must add sincerity — “passion, emotion, touching compassion, heartfelt sympathy, strong sobs and tears.” Sowing of the “highest quality — God’s quality” requires actions that come from the whole soul and the whole heart.
“With the sincere You show Yourself sincere. With the pure You show Yourself pure.” God’s rewards are good.
Matthew 5:7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”
- The best time to sow is the time of difficulties.
When pain comes, a person has a choice:
Close up, become bitter, complain, blame others, and do nothing, or — sow (with prayers, service, work, growth, and development).
Psalm 56:8
“You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in Your bottle.” (ESV)
God sees our tears. And often it is precisely through difficulties that our character is formed, and we acquire lasting spiritual and life skills. Then a person can become mature enough to endure everything:
• to weep and believe,
• to suffer and hope,
• to sow and wait.
God calls upon us to transform weeping into seeds for sowing — holding them and casting them with faith! With prayers, we cast them into the soil known as God’s promises.
- Between sowing and harvest, there is time.
God has established a spiritual law!
Genesis 8:22
“While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest… shall not cease.” (ESV)
But between them, there is a process of ripening — time is always required. And that requires patience. We wish to sow today and reap tomorrow. It does not work that way. But God works through a process, a process of positive change. The most important blessing is the change that takes place between the sowing and the harvest.
The Bible says in James 5:7
“See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient over it until it receives the early and the late rains.” (ESV)
The most important transformation happens not during sowing, not during the harvest, but in between. It is in the in-between that faith grows, characters change, and the individual is forged. Great results almost always come after a long period of faithfulness.
Knowing and believing that the one who sows will reap his harvest gives us the grace to wait a long time.
Understanding that the wait time between sowing and the reaping influences the value of the fruit, this is what gives us the grace to wait. Extraordinary results usually come after a long period of hard work and waiting.
That is why strong people of God are often born of the valleys of tears. Probably because of this, our church has constantly had and still has challenges.
- Between sowing and harvest God is at work.
People can sow. But God performs the miracle; God creates the harvest. The harvest is a miracle! Sowing is our part; the harvest is God’s part.
The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 3:6
“I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.”
A person does his part, and God does His: The impossible. The farmer puts the seed into the ground, but he cannot make it sprout or create life inside it. God does that. Life is given by God.
- Joy is the appearance of the harvest and blessing of God.
Harvest is the moment when it becomes clear that the labor was not in vain. It is when deferred pleasure arrives.
The Bible says in Psalm 30:5
“Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.”
John 16:20
“You will weep and lament… but your sorrow will turn into joy.”
Great pleasure is often preceded by a period of tears. It is like the seeds we sow — they will bring a harvest. A harvest of joy that we can reap later.
The harvest, or answers to prayers, can manifest as:
Delivered people, restored families, spiritual growth, blessing, and the glory of God. God knows how to turn tears into a harvest.
Whoever has not experienced the depths of pain will not experience the depths of joy.
Joy’s depth often corresponds to the endured pain’s depth.
Joseph went through betrayal, slavery, and prison, but then he became a ruler. His life was a path through tears: his brothers betrayed him, selling him into slavery, and he was falsely accused and ended up in prison… For many years, he saw no fulfillment of God’s promise, given to him in a dream. But he remained faithful, served, did good, and sowed so much in tears…
Then one day, everything changed. He became ruler of Egypt. His tears grew into the salvation of nations.
Genesis 50:20
“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”
If today when we sow with tears, then if we endure in believing instead of giving up, we will make a return with joy and with sheaves of grain.
Without doubt, joy will come again. The seeds of sincere tears will, in time, bring a true harvest of joy. A joy parallel to when reapers carry heavy sheaves of grain. We can be sure of a good harvest through our faith in God. This is a powerful and great promise. Therefore, let our tears and sorrows not be wasted, but let them be sown before a joyful harvest that will come in the best time.
This word is for many people, for the church, for an entire generation, for countries going through pain.
Quote from Charles Spurgeon: Trials and difficulties help us understand who we really are; they reveal our true nature, they dig up the soil, allowing us to see what we are made of. He often said that tears are the “words” the heart speaks to God with when ordinary speech is not enough.
“The tears of a Christian are the rain that waters the seeds of future joy.”
Mothers who sow in tears will reap with joy — they will reap gladness, successful growth, wealth, favor, and even more.
Missionaries, ministers, and everyday believers in Christ who by faith sow for God — who fulfill the Christian duty of preaching, teaching people, and opening ministries, churches, schools — even in tears amid persecution and suffering, illnesses, pains and sorrows, enduring harsh conditions (climate-wise, or with death, financial difficulties, loneliness, etc.) — will reap a great multitude of souls for the Lord. They will rejoice in the harvest! And see their great reward!
Perhaps it seems to you that you are of no use… Well, the day will come when you “will reap with joy, and your harvest will be abundant.”
There is one amazing plant — bamboo.
When it is planted, for some time nothing is visible (they say 25–30 days).
So the farmer continues to water the ground. Until one day, the bamboo begins to grow and in a short time, shoots up dozens of meters.
Question: Did it grow up in a short time? No.
It was growing underground for a while (25–30 days, they say).
The same happens in our spiritual lives. We think nothing is moving, but God is working “under the surface” in the space invisible to us. Then the time comes when the unseen things become seen.
We should remember!
If we sow the seed, harvest will follow.
If we sow in tears, joy will follow.
If one has faith, God will perform a miracle.
God protects the buried seed and provides for harvests. If the Spirit of God inspires our sighs, our tears, or our prayers, none of them can be in vain or fruitless. Just like our Lord Jesus Christ, we too will look with satisfaction upon what follows after the anguish of our soul!
Isaiah 53:11-12 (ESV)
11 “Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.”
We are disciples of Jesus Christ. Like our Lord, the Man of Sorrows who knew grief, we are carriers of the precious seed of faith and eternal life known as the Good News. We spread the Holy Gospel through our lives. We have been born again by the Holy Spirit.
But His body — the body of Jesus Christ — was buried like a grain of wheat in the furrow of the grave. And He rose and is now in Heaven; from there He will undoubtedly return with joy! So shall we, for it is written that we will be with the Lord forever.
Psalm 125:1
“A Song of Ascents. When the LORD restored the captives of Zion, we were like dreamers…” (ESV)
The Word of God allows us to see beyond our current scope of visibility!
Ecclesiastes 2:13-14
“Then I saw that there is more gain in wisdom than in folly, as there is more gain in light than in darkness. The wise person has his eyes in his head,”
Ecclesiastes 2:14 (EASY translation)
“Wise people can see where they are going.”
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 (ESV)
13 “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.”
Conclusion
The question is not: Are there tears?
The question is: Are we sowing seeds regardless?
The Psalm promises: “He who goes out weeping, carrying a trail of seeds, will return with joy, carrying his sheaves.”
Sometimes it seems to us that our tears are the end of the story. But God says: this is only time for you to sow. Maybe today someone is praying for their children, for their family, for their country. Maybe another person is serving and does not see any fruit; they’ve become worn out and are living through a long period of pain. But God speaks to us today through this Psalm:
“Those who sowed in tears will reap with joy.”
Tears are not a defeat. Tears are water for your future harvests.
Every prayer, every sacrifice, every night of struggle forms seeds, falling onto the soil of God’s promises.
And God promises: “He who goes out weeping will surely return with…joy” Not just return but with sheaves! With testimonies, miracles, answers to prayers, people saved. And one day we will say the same as in the Psalm:
“Great things has the Lord done for us, and we are filled with joy.” Our song of ascent will sound!
Glory to God for Ukraine!
Honor and respect to the heroes!
Psalm 126 (ESV)
A Song of Ascents. 1 When the LORD restored the captives of Zion, we were like dreamers. 2 Then our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with shouts of joy. Then it was said among the nations, “The LORD has done great things for them.” 3 The LORD has done great things for us; we are filled with joy. 4 Restore our captives, O LORD, like streams in the Negev. 5 Those who sow in tears will reap with shouts of joy. 6 He who goes out weeping, bearing a trail of seed, will surely return with shouts of joy, carrying sheaves of grain.
Pastor Bose Adelaja
32nd Anniversary of God’s Embassy Church
March 28–29, 2026
