Tears have been in abundance for many recently.
Life has a way of drawing them out of us.
Both joy and sorrow can be responsible for them.
These days sorrow is taking the most credit for the tears that are running down so many faces.
Tears contain our DNA.
Wherever they fall they leave evidence that we were there even after the place has dried up.
And evidence that we were moved emotionally.
Yet, even if no one else heeds our tears or ever discovers those dried up tears there is One who does not miss one drop.
The Living God.
For many years my own tears would embarrass me. I fought them tooth and nail.
I think I believed they were a sign of weakness and weakness made one vulnerable.
I did not like that "v" word for a long time!
As I studied Scripture and encountered David, in the Old Testament, I began to take a different view of tears; my tears
King David was a mighty warrior.
He lived life fully.
He was a man full of emotion and there are a number of references to his tears.
He was not ashamed of his tears.
In Psalm Sixty-Six he shares that his weeping was such that his bed was swimming in tears.
And in Psalm Forty-two he admits to crying all through the day and night.
He poured his heart out to his God, confident that He was listening and that He cared.
This man who loved God with all his heart was setting an example for me that was setting my heart free!
My heart leaped with joy when I first read Psalm Fifty-Six, verse Eight; for it was from Papa to me,
How tender and caring He is!
Nowhere in the Bible have I found that the LORD God admonished anyone for their tears.
He invented them and they have a purpose.
And all His purposes are good.
Mary Magdalene washed Jesus' feet with her tears. They were tears of joy and repentance.
Jeremiah is known as the "Weeping Prophet." In both the Book of Jeremiah and Lamentations we find a number of references to his tears. He cried rivers!
His were tears of grief.
In each and every case the tears were expressing the heart of those who wept.
Our God is not unfamiliar with tears.
Jesus shed tears.
He wept over the city of Jerusalem.
The grief of those who mourned the death of His friend, Lazarus, moved Him to tears.
And the night of His betrayal found Him weeping in the garden before His Father in prayer.
Though tears have a place now, there will come a time when they will no longer have a purpose for God's children.
There will come a time, when we find ourselves face-to-face with our Heavenly Father.
Tears will be falling down our faces.
Tears of sorrow.
Tears of repentance.
And tears of joy.
Then He will raise His Hand to our face...
It is my prayer that they would encounter the God of all comfort, who is saving each tear in His bottle and noting it in His book.
Then the day will come when all their sighing will flee away and in its place will come joy-filled healing!
As we mourn with those who mourn, may they encounter the heart of our loving God.
*Psalm One Hundred Twenty-Six, verse Five
Life has a way of drawing them out of us.
Both joy and sorrow can be responsible for them.
These days sorrow is taking the most credit for the tears that are running down so many faces.
Tears contain our DNA.
Wherever they fall they leave evidence that we were there even after the place has dried up.
And evidence that we were moved emotionally.
Yet, even if no one else heeds our tears or ever discovers those dried up tears there is One who does not miss one drop.
The Living God.
For many years my own tears would embarrass me. I fought them tooth and nail.
I think I believed they were a sign of weakness and weakness made one vulnerable.
I did not like that "v" word for a long time!
As I studied Scripture and encountered David, in the Old Testament, I began to take a different view of tears; my tears
King David was a mighty warrior.
He lived life fully.
He was a man full of emotion and there are a number of references to his tears.
He was not ashamed of his tears.
In Psalm Sixty-Six he shares that his weeping was such that his bed was swimming in tears.
And in Psalm Forty-two he admits to crying all through the day and night.
He poured his heart out to his God, confident that He was listening and that He cared.
This man who loved God with all his heart was setting an example for me that was setting my heart free!
My heart leaped with joy when I first read Psalm Fifty-Six, verse Eight; for it was from Papa to me,
"You have taken account of my wanderings; put my tears in Your bottle; are they not in Your book?"Oh my! He saves my tears in a bottle and notes them in His book?
How tender and caring He is!
Nowhere in the Bible have I found that the LORD God admonished anyone for their tears.
He invented them and they have a purpose.
And all His purposes are good.
Mary Magdalene washed Jesus' feet with her tears. They were tears of joy and repentance.
Jeremiah is known as the "Weeping Prophet." In both the Book of Jeremiah and Lamentations we find a number of references to his tears. He cried rivers!
His were tears of grief.
In each and every case the tears were expressing the heart of those who wept.
Our God is not unfamiliar with tears.
Jesus shed tears.
He wept over the city of Jerusalem.
The grief of those who mourned the death of His friend, Lazarus, moved Him to tears.
And the night of His betrayal found Him weeping in the garden before His Father in prayer.
Though tears have a place now, there will come a time when they will no longer have a purpose for God's children.
There will come a time, when we find ourselves face-to-face with our Heavenly Father.
Tears will be falling down our faces.
Tears of sorrow.
Tears of repentance.
And tears of joy.
Then He will raise His Hand to our face...
"And He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there shall no longer be any death; there shall no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain, the first things have passed away."So many are swimming in their tears with aching hearts.
It is my prayer that they would encounter the God of all comfort, who is saving each tear in His bottle and noting it in His book.
Then the day will come when all their sighing will flee away and in its place will come joy-filled healing!
As we mourn with those who mourn, may they encounter the heart of our loving God.
"Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting." *
*Psalm One Hundred Twenty-Six, verse Five
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