Tears. Life is full of them. Sometimes they embarrass us; sometimes they help us. Sometimes they flow when we wish they would not; sometimes we choke them back.
Tears can be an enigma. We cry when we are hurt or are sad and grieving. We may also cry because we are happy or relieved!
You have probably experienced the mystery of tears personally. I have. Tears when my Dad died. Tears have come at times when I’ve hurt and when someone else was hurting. Dark times of depression also brought tears as I poured out my frustrations to God. I cried tears when James was born and when my kids experienced wonderful moments.
There is no one who has not shed a few tears—whether they want to admit it or not. Tears are one thing we all have in common. There is approximately 6 billion people in this world. If each one shed only 50 tears a year, that would be 300 billion tears, or about 6 million gallons of tears! Six million gallons of tears, and that is a conservative figure. A river of tears marks human history.
What are tears?
According to Websters Dictionary a tear is “a drop of clear saline fluid secreted by the lacrimal gland and diffused between the eye and eyelids to moisten the parts and facilitate their motion.” A psychologist or counselor might tell you that tears are a release valve for your emotions. My favorite description is that tears are the window of the soul to let us see the heart's truest emotions.
If you want to do an interesting and beneficial study sometime, look up the references to tears in the Bible. You will find that they are mentioned 35 times, beginning with an incident in the life of King Hezekiah. Many of the Psalms are records of tears poured out to God. As you read through the Scriptures, it becomes clear that God notices our tears.
One of my favorite verses is Psalm 56:8 The English Standard Version reads,
"You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book?”
The New Living Translation renders the verse,
“You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.”
What a beautiful poetic image David uses to convey the truth to us that God knows, cares, and is involved in our lives. In our deepest sorrow, God cares! Jesus reminded us that God even numbers the hair on our heads--He knows every problem and sees every tear.
The last mention of tears in the Bible is Revelation 21:4. There God gives a beautiful promise.
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will exist no longer; grief, crying, and pain will exist no longer, because the previous things have passed away. Revelation 21:4 HCSB)
Are there tears in your life right now? They will not be there always. That is a certain hope for every Christian. In the present though, we need to understand that God cares. He notes every tear. He cares about each hurt, burden, and grief that your tears represent. Tears do not have to be useless. When tears come we need to run to the Father, draw close to Him, submit to Him and His work of love. We need to let God teach us and mold us through times of sorrow and tears.
Through tears we can learn brokenness and obedience like David and Peter did. We can learn to trust God more. Tears can cleanse our spiritual vision. Mary and Martha, through their tears of grief, came to know Jesus in a way they had never known Him before. Tears can also help us learn sympathy, enabling us to comfort and encourage others.
The day will come when God will personally wipe away every tear from our eyes. Meanwhile, our tears are not useless. There are only two kinds of useless tears: tears that are selfish and self-pitying, and tears of regret from a lost soul standing before God at the judgement. Don't let your tears be useless. Allow God to draw you to Himself knowing that He will more than make up for them one day.
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