The shedding of tears is an equalizer. Economic status, political beliefs, race nor gender can isolate us from experiences that bring us to tears.
As human beings, we feel a wide range of emotions on any given day. In just one 24-hour period, the events of one day can invoke joy or sadness, hatred or kindness, resentment or forgiveness; you name it. What’s astounding is that all of these varied emotions have the capability of being accompanied by a common noun: tears.
According to Reena Mukamal in the article “All About Emotional Tears” there are three types of tears: basal, reflex, and emotional:
1. Basal tears are always present in our eyes to lubricate and protect the cornea. Basal tears protect the eyes from debris and dirt.
2. Reflex tears wash away irritants, foreign objects, and smoke which are harmful. They contain more antibodies than basal tears to help fight bacteria.
3. Emotional tears come in response to joy, fear, sadness, and other emotional feelings. These tears have additional proteins and hormones that are not found in reflex or basal tears.
With this information in mind, what does God say about my tears? I ask this question because of the many emotional tears I’ve shed throughout my life. I’m sure you have cried your share of tears as well. The shedding of tears is an equalizer. Economic status, political beliefs, race nor gender can isolate us from experiences that bring us to tears. As long as we are on this side of Heaven, there will be opportunities to cry.
Everyone, including the Christian, misses the mark of living up to God’s perfect standards. For example, we may decide to do something God has told us not to do such as steal or lie. We may also decide not to do something He specifically instructed us to do, like love and pray for our enemies. It is a result of these experiences of missing the mark that we have cried tears of repentance for our actions (2 Corinthians 7:10).
We also find Scripture evidence of tears of remorse and regret when Esau is having a conversation with his father. Esau had previously sold his birthright to his younger brother Jacob in a moment of desperation. At his father’s bedside, Esau comes to realize that his father had blessed Jacob with a blessing reserved for the eldest son prior to his passing. (Genesis 25:33, Genesis 27:34). I’m certain that we all can relate to Esau’s cry as a result of regretful decisions we’ve made and actions we have taken.
Contrary to some beliefs, crying is not a sign of weakness. Our tears confirm that we are human; not weak! Tears of joy, tears of sadness, tears of pain, or tears of jubilation all connect us to the reality of life and what we’re going through at any given time.
Again I ask, what does God say about my tears? The best source to find this answer is the Word of God.
In the quest to answer this question, I bring you with me.
Thank God for the tears of joy and excitement that we experience. Oftentimes, however, our tears come because we have lost hope. Our tears reflect our sadness or despair over a situation and words, alone, seem insufficient to communicate what we are feeling. What we can appreciate about God is that our tears aren’t lost on Him. In fact, the Bible confirms:
1. God sees our tears.
In 2 Kings 20:1-5, we see a narrative involving Hezekiah who had just been put on notice to get his business in order because death was knocking at his door. He was gravely ill and, understandably, terrified after receiving this message. He “wept sore," but notice God’s response: “...I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears...”
Just as God heard Hezekiah's cry, He hears our cries. The tears of Hezekiah got God’s attention. Some people in our lives can see our tears and yet not be moved by them. This is not the case with God. Everything that concerns us concerns God (I Peter 5:7 KJV).
2. God is stirred with compassion by our tears.
Not only does God see our tears, but He is moved by them. Continuing to look at 2 Kings 20:1-5 we see a remarkable display of how God is stirred with compassion by the tears of Hezekiah. God’s response confirms that hearing Hezekiah’s prayer and seeing his tears moved Him to act with addressing the source of his pain and sorrow. God announced, “...behold, I will heal thee...”
When God sees our tears, He recognizes what has brought us to that point. Whatever the concern that has brought on the cares, God’s compassion is stirred to move on our behalf. We are not guaranteed to receive physical healing as in Hezekiah’s case (Rothschild, 2018). However, we can be certain that God is moved by our tears and His compassion will be extended to us all.
3. God stores our tears.
“Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?” (Psalms 56:8)
This is a very familiar Scripture when we talk about what God does with our tears. David is persuaded, and I concur, that God is aware of the most minute details of our lives. After all, since God knows the number of hairs on our heads, this is a logical conclusion (Matthew 10:30).
Granted, we should not see God as a collector of bottles, but perhaps what David wants to emphasize is that God is aware of every single tear that we shed. He remembers what has hurt us and all the suffering we are going through (Rothschild, 2018). We should be comforted in knowing this!
We have a High Priest that identifies with our pain and suffering. We can be assured that when we cry, we don’t cry alone. God is watching and collecting our tears to soothe the pain, to help us through our struggles, and to bring us comfort. Remember, weeping may endure for a night but joy is coming in the morning on the other side of your tears (Psalm 30:5b KJV).
Not only can we rejoice because our loving and kind God sees our tears, but He is also stirred with compassion when we cry, moving on our behalf. We can rejoice knowing that God stores our tears and remembers our suffering. Lastly, we can rejoice knowing that ultimately:
4. God shall wipe our tears away.
Revelation 21:4 (KJV) says, “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”
I looked up this verse in various Bible translations: King James, Amplified, New Revised Standard and the New International Version. There is one resounding conclusion to the matter: our tears come to an end! When we get to heaven, our tears will no longer be an issue. God shall wipe them away; never to return again. How can we be assured of this? Because this Scripture tells us that the former things (disappointment, heartache, fear, etc.) that brought the tears to our eyes will be passed away. Glory to God!
Be assured that our tears matter! We should not be ashamed of our tears, nor try to avoid them, because they are evidence that we are human. Don’t judge yourself or allow others to deem you weak because you cry. Instead, let’s be encouraged and rejoice in the truth that while living on this earth, God:
1. Sees our tears and does not ignore them.
2. Is stirred with compassion by our tears and will move on our behalf.
3. Stores and remembers our tears and suffering so He can bring us relief and renewed joy.
4. Shall ultimately wipe all our tears away!
We are important to God, and so are our tears. When we cry, we are in very good company. After all, "Jesus wept" (John 11:35).
Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/KatarzynaBialasiewicz
Sandra Cobb is a grateful mother of three amazing children and grandmother of nine precious grandbabies. She is a certified Forgiveness Coach, speaker, and author of "Free to Forgive." She is passionate about sharing the love of God and testimonies of how faithful He is!
