Psalms of Praise and Promise

You care for the land and water it;
    you enrich it abundantly.
The streams of God are filled with water
    to provide the people with grain,
    for so you have ordained it.^[d]
You drench its furrows and level its ridges;
    you soften it with showers and bless its crops.
You crown the year with your bounty,
    and your carts overflow with abundance.
The grasslands of the wilderness overflow;
    the hills are clothed with gladness.
The meadows are covered with flocks
    and the valleys are mantled with grain;
    they shout for joy and sing.

                                      Psalm 65: 9-13

          This is Psalm 65; written by David to give glory to God for his power and goodness. These last few verses of the psalm proclaim God’s sovereignty over nature and man’s work within it. As a farming household, we understand the praises being given better than most. In bumper crop years, it is all we can do to give thanks for the blessings we have received.

          

         Unfortunately, not every year consists of high yields and favorable weather patterns. These past few weeks it has completely stopped raining. As a matter of fact, it has not rained since our second blog post about the heat. We have had forecast predictions that promised heavy rainfall and only gave a meager sprinkle. We have cracks forming in the ground that you can fit your foot into. The corn crop is starting to take on a sickly color and posture. Words cannot express how direly we need water.

          It is in times like these that the praises of Psalm 65 seem to run dry (pun intended). It is difficult to swallow the pain of helplessly watching a crop wither away. But Psalm 65 is not only a psalm of praise – it is a psalm of promise. It displays God’s hand over all nature, including the rain, and proclaims that all is in His control. At the Van Gilst household, that knowledge is the only thing that adds stability to the instability of farming.

          So yes, it hasn’t rained and it might not rain for quite some time (there is some predicted for tomorrow), but we rest assured knowing that all will turn out for our benefit and His glory. These few dry weeks are not the worst thing we have faced in agriculture, but we always aim to respond in the same way to trials. Give glory to the One who allows us the ability to farm His land and provide nourishment for His people – always trusting that everything is part of His divine plan and He will not forsake us. 

- VG Farms