Psalms Chapter 126. Blood, sweat, and tears.
There's a great celebration in this chapter over how God restored his people. The people were estatic. They were filled with laughter and songs of joy. But before they could experience this restoration and joy they had to go through a challenging process.
Verse 5 & 6 gives an ingredient I feel is essential as we serve our Lord.
Verse 5 says to serve with tears because you'll reap songs of joy.
Vs.6 says sow with weeping you'll carry a great bundle of crops/sheaves.
When I think of ministry, I often pray God will give me his eyes and heart for others. I want to weep for the Lost. I want my heart to break for the lost. Because I know that when that happens, I will be driven to want to minister to those in need. To sow with tears and weeping, to me, is a sign of a heart of love and compassion for others. It shows you greatly care about the other person and about their well-being.
When you put blood, sweat, & tears into planting crops, you produce a joyful crop. When you put blood sweat and tears into the lives of others, you will see fruit come from your love and compassion: changed lives for the Lord.
Putting blood sweat and tears into something means you are investing a lot of time and energy into it, along with the love and compassion. People can see your love as you invest into their lives. That's when you begin to see change into the lives of others. That's when Ministry gets exciting. You are blessed and filled with joy as you see lives impacted for the kingdom. So I will continue to pray for God to help me have his heart and tears for the lost and needy. And I will pray he will use me to invest into their lives with love and tears, and eventually see a joyful crop.