Working in the fields

Zechariah 10-12
Psalm 126
Luke 14

SOAP - Working in the fields

Scripture
Psalm 126:6 He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him.

Observation
This is scripture that I'm surprised to have enjoyed this morning. It is scripture that I usually read, realize I have know idea what it's supposed to mean, and move on to the next scripture. I still have no idea what it's supposed to mean. I'm sure if there was a Sunday school lesson on it, they'd teach me something other than what I found here. But, God can show me whatever he wants, even if it's not the main message of the scripture. :-)
If we look out at the world, are upset by the thought of all these people living their empty lives without God, and it makes us go out and try to help them know God, then people will be saved and we will be filled with joy.
If God calls us to serve him and in order to serve him we must make sacrifices, and we serve him anyway, even if we are devastated, he will bless us and we will be filled with joy.

Application
The first thing that came to mind when I read this was trying to help other people know God more and share in the blessings I have in life, in my relationship with God. I don't do that often enough. And I know I need to do it more often. I believe that when we see people struggling and it breaks our hearts, we can help them see that God is there and he'll bless us all with joy. That is all good. And I'll hopefully make use of that lesson.
But as I started writing this something else stood out to me. This scripture speaks to me in relation to the sacrifices we are sometimes called to make in order to serve the Lord. I love to hike. I love the Smoky Mountains. I love nature photography. They are passions of mine. I thought (and still think) that God gave me those passions. But lately it seems like the more I follow God, the more those passions get taken away. I'm not ok with that plan. I haven't been saying, "sure, no problem God, I'll do whatever you say". I've been saying no. No, I'm sorry, you'll have to come up with a new plan because I'm not giving that up. I'm still confused about it. I think I'll have more time for those things than I realized when I first assessed the situation and said "no". But I doubt it's a much time as I want. I know the right thing to do. I should say "yes God". I know that what happens when I say "yes" will be so much greater than anything I think I'm holding on to by saying "no". Even when the sacrifice feels devastating, if we can go out, with God's love in our hearts and serve him anyway, he will bless our efforts and bless us. He will lift us up and fill us with joy. Of course we would all gladly serve the Lord if we knew ahead of time that our sacrifice would be insignificant in comparison to the Lords blessing. But it's important to be willing to have faith and serve him even when we don't know what to expect.

Prayer
Dear Lord. I don't know what I was thinking, why everything seemed so extreme to me, like I was being asked to give up all that I am. The sacrifice is not at all what I thought it would be. There will be time for my passions. Thank you for that. Thank you so much. For the sacrifice that is there, Lord my answer is "yes". It's ok. I love the chance to serve you. I know that your plan is so much greater than my plan. But Lord, I am still scared. It sometimes feels like all the things that have made me who I am in the past are going away, and nothing is being put back in their place. I know that's not true. And I know you are not taking things away from me. I see tons of blessings in my life. Lord help me to also see some of who you want me to be. And help me have faith to keep on serving you even when I don't see what you are doing. Lord give me strength to be the person you created me to be. Amen.