Day: August 27, 2024

By Rick Warren – Source: nhulieuthanhkinh.com

“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.” Psalm 126:5-6 (NLT)

You need to plant by faith, not by your feelings.

Do you think that every day a farmer wakes up excited to go to work on their farm? No. It’s hard work! But if a farmer only worked their crops when they felt like it, not much would get done. They may not want to get up early. They may not want to go plant and weed and cultivate and harvest. But they do it anyway.

Let me make a little confession: I don’t always feel like being nice to people. I hate to admit it! Sometimes I want to be cranky. Sometimes I just want to say, “Leave me alone!” I don’t always feel like being kind. I don’t always feel like being generous. I don’t always feel like giving people hope.

But I don’t live by my feelings. I choose to live by faith. Sometimes I plant when I’m tired. Sometimes I plant when I’m distracted. Sometimes I plant when I’m stressed out. Sometimes I plant when I’m in deep, deep grief. And I move ahead in faith in spite of my feelings, expecting God to act.

One year at Saddleback Church, we were approaching the anniversary of my son’s death, and I really didn’t want to be at church. It was close to Easter, and I would have rather just celebrated the resurrection at home with my family and my Lord and just get through the day.

I was in tears most of that week, and I claimed Psalm 126:5-6 as a promise: “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” (NLT).         

And you know what? As I was planting seeds in 14 Easter services, God gave a harvest of 2,604 people who came to Christ. Those who sow in tears will reap in joy. All those people are going to be in heaven because I didn’t do what I felt like doing. I did what I did by faith.

Sometimes God will call you to make a sacrifice—through your money, yes, but also through your time, talent, and maybe even your life. You may feel like saying, “I don’t feel like it.” But if you do, you will miss the blessing that God wants to give by using you.

By Rick Warren – Source: nhulieuthanhkinh.com

“I sent you to harvest where you didn’t plant; others had already done the work, and now you will get to gather the harvest.”  John 4:38 (NLT)

Years ago PBS did a series of family histories of famous Americans. They wanted to include a pastor, so they asked me if I would participate. They took a swab of DNA from my mouth, and they used it to trace my family tree back a thousand years. They didn’t discover that I’m the descendent of kings, but they found all kinds of interesting things and compiled it for a TV special.

One of the things they discovered is the amount of godly ancestors I have. I am reaping the benefit and blessings from grandparents and great-grandparents and others who were praying for their children’s children and making disciples in our family. I can see the blessings in my life because I had people in my family who loved God and were praying for future generations.

I know many would say, “I didn’t have a family like that. But I’d like to have a legacy like that.”

You start it! Start that kind of legacy—the kind with eternal effects—with your family. You determine that the future generations of your family name are going to be blessed because you planted seeds of godliness, because you prayed and did not give up, even when you didn’t get to see the harvest. If you do, the people who come out of your family tree will have a blessing in heritage.

You are harvesting both good and bad from your past. Why? Because you’re not the only person sowing. You need to take your choices very seriously, because your life is going to affect future generations. You can’t control the past, but you can break the chain of hurt and abuse and ungodliness now. You can change the course for your family. You can establish a godly legacy by sowing seeds of prayer and love and generosity and faith.

Jesus said in John 4:38, “I sent you to harvest where you didn’t plant; others had already done the work, and now you will get to gather the harvest” (NLT).

You may never see the harvest here on earth. But you can be sure your faithfulness will have an impact for generations to come and for eternity.