...................................................................................................................................................................
.
Joni
and Friends
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada with
an old, old memory.
If
you grew up in church in the 1960s as I did, you might remember the old gospel
song, “Bringing in the Sheaves.”
In Sunday school, our teacher
would have us kids stand and march around the room singing the chorus.
Written generations ago, the song
spoke about plowing and working the soil until harvest time.
“Sheaves” are the bundles of ripe
grain, bound up and carried by the harvesters.
The song
has its roots in Psalm 126, verse 6 where it says: “Those who go out
weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves
with them.”
The harvest described in Psalm
126 speaks of that glad, glorious, golden season when we will present the
fruits of our earthly labors to Jesus, Lord of the harvest.
In the meantime, however, working
the ground and tilling God’s fields can be difficult.
But
Galatians Chapter 6, verse 9 is meant to give encouragement when Paul writes: “And
let us not get tired of doing what is right, for after a while we will reap a
harvest of blessing if we don’t get discouraged and give up.”
Oh,
friend, don’t get discouraged, don’t give up.
Over the years of pressing on and
persevering through many afflictions, I have often straightened from my labors,
leaned on my hoe (so to speak), gazed at the horizon, and I have longed for
harvest time, for that Better Country.
When I’m feeling overwhelmed with
life’s trials, I keep reminding myself that they have a purpose, there is an
end in view.
That purpose is beautifully
expressed in a Puritan prayer I have often whispered to the Lord, sometimes
through tears.
Here is an excerpt. It says:
“Give me
a deeper trust, that I may lose myself to find myself in Thee, the ground of my
rest, the spring of my being. Give me a deeper knowledge of Thyself as Savior,
Master, Lord, and King… Plow deep in me… that my being may be a tilled field,
the roots of grace spreading far and wide, until Thou alone art seen in me, Thy
beauty golden like summer harvest, Thy fruitfulness as autumn plenty.”
I
think you can see why I love that prayer. Because I don’t want to throw down
the hoe, I don’t want to get frustrated that harvest time seems too far in the
distant future.
So, I pray, ‘Plow deep in me,
Lord.’
I’ll be honest with you. It’s a
risky prayer because we are asking for a deeper knowledge of our Savior, a
deeper holiness, or a deeper power in prayer.
Which means that we are asking
God to take His plow — the sharp, cutting edge of His will — and run our lives
through and furrow us, unearthing parts that need to be tilled, places in our
soul that have been too long in the dark.
We’re asking Him to turn those
places upright to the sunshine of God’s love and the showers of His mercy.
Plow me deep, Lord. It’s a
risky prayer because it’s an invitation into our Lord’s school of suffering.
But here’s the bottom line. No
one goes to Christ’s heaven unless they take up their cross daily and follow in
His steps.
God shares His joy on His terms,
and those terms call for us to, in some measure, suffer as He did.
But oh, the pleasure of knowing
the Man of Sorrows in this deeply personal way it is worth it.
And when
the harvest time finally comes, “Those the Lord has rescued will enter Zion
with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads.”
That’s a beautiful reminder from
Isaiah.
It
reminds us in the meantime, to keep ‘Bringing in the sheaves; bringing in the sheaves. We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.’
God bless you friend!
Joni and Friends is answering the call in the Gospel of Luke 14, "invite the poor,
the crippled, the lame, the blind and you will be blessed...make them come in
so my house will be full."
Advancing
Disability Ministry for Over 40 Years
Joni
and Friends
is built on Biblical truth and the foundation of Jesus Christ. Since 1979,
we've been advancing disability ministry and changing the church and
communities around the world. The Joni and Friends International Disability
Center (IDC) serves as the administrative center for ministry programs and locations across the
United States which provide outreach to thousands of families impacted
by disability around the globe.
We
present the Gospel of Jesus Christ through all of our programs around the
world. We train, disciple, and mentor people affected by disability to exercise
their gifts of leadership and service in their churches and communities. We
energize the church to move from lack of awareness of people impacted by
disability to including everyone into the fabric of worship, fellowship, and
outreach.
https://www.joniandfriends.org/bringing-in-the-sheaves/
Bringing In The Sheaves
You might also like:
Knowles Shaw
CLICK HERE . . . to view complete playlist . .
.
No comments:
Post a Comment