The Lord has been teaching me about tears again this morning, actually He’s been teaching me about tears for a while now, but this morning He has given me some new understanding – some I can put into words and some I cannot.
Why have I been thinking so much about tears? Why am dwelling here?
Because of what is going on within me, because of what I am not only discovering within myself, but what I am beginning to see within others as they cry, as they weep, as they “fall apart” in the presence of the Lord. Something significant happens. Something that is beautiful and meaningful to the Lord, happens.
Why does the world see “tears” as a weakness?
Because the reality is, “tears” are powerful. Tears can represent breakthrough. Tears bring us closer to the heart of God.
hmmm…
Why do we often want to hold tears back?
Because “tears” are healing, they add to something that’s there for us in heaven.
“You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.” Psalm 56:8
hmmm…
Tears are not a sign of weakness, they are POWERFUL!
“The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles.” – Psalm 34:17
What happens when we allow the dam within us to break, when we allow the tears to fall, when we allow ourselves to just feel the depth of whatever that is that these tears bring as we weep before the Lord, not caring what others may think so much.
I don’t know exactly what happens, but for some reason the Lord has been leading me into a discovery and an understanding that I cannot hardly put into words yet.
I know that many may disagree with me on this, but lately when I don’t have the words to pray when I feel a strong need to come before the Lord, my tears feel as though they are a prayer to the Lord. I just feel that they communicate something deeper than any kind of word can in some situations…
Psalm 18:6 says, “In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears.”
But I also am realizing that there are times when I am dry of tears when it would seem as though there should be or would be tears, and when there are no tears, the Lord is helping me to understand why there are no tears, at least what that means for me personally.
For years and years and years, I would try my hardest to hold them back, for fear of what others may think, for fear that I would slip out of having control over myself, for fear of showing a weakness, or anything that could make me seem “not okay”…
But tears feel a lot like a wave of “breakthrough” and then after the tears it’s amazing how when the need for tears lifts…peace and relief, and hope, and renewal come rushing in… an unexplainable kind of refreshing.
Psalm 10:17 says,
“Lord, you know the hopes of the helpless. Surely you will hear their cries and comfort them.”
But there are all different kinds of tears for different reasons, right?
There are “poor me” tears… I’m not exactly talking about these kinds, although I do know the Lord sees these kinds of tears and notices them too.
I am talking about a wave that hits us and tears just come flooding in along with a powerful sense of ‘something‘ happening within our depths, and it comes from those depths and manifests through our eyes. Whether it be tears of desperation, tears of need, tears from hurt, tears from lack or loss…whether it be tears of joy, or tears of gratitude…whether it is for ourselves, for others, or from somewhere much deeper.
“Thus saith the Lord of host…
Call for the mourning women.
And let them…take up a wailing for us,
That our eyes may run down with tears,
And our eyelids gush out with waters.” -Jeremiah 9:17,18 (KJV)
The prophet Jeremiah was known for “weeping the heart of God”,
“Speak this word to them: ‘Let my eyes overflow with tears night and day without ceasing; for the virgin daughter, my people, has suffered a grievous wound, a crushing blow.’” -Jeremiah 14:17
“Oh that my head were waters And my eyes a fountain of tears, That I might weep day and night For the slain of the daughter of my people!” – Jeremiah 9:1
Tears are extremely valuable in heaven because they are valuable to the Lord. I can just see them turning into the completely opposite thing of what they represent on earth- from hurt to healing, from desperation and need to an abundance of the Lord’s presence and peace. And you know, I think when we cry them, they can turn into what they represent in heaven, bringing the things of heaven here to earth, into our situations, into the places within us that feel the hurt, the loss, the desperation.
“He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed, Shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.” – Psalm 126:6
“Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.” – Luke 6:21
It all comes down to this…
Our tears are sacred. They are important to the Lord.
“There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition, and of unspeakable love.” -Washington Irving
Knowing this, I am walking into a path of discovery of what this means in my life. The Lord is having me take note of what is going on. I don’t understand but bits and pieces right now, but the Lord is taking me somewhere with this.
The other day I joined in to pray for a lady, and I had no words to pray, but I felt the Lord gave me tears, and so I let them fall, and even though I had no words in that moment, I knew something was happening from within the depths of me that I could not understand, but I knew.
1 Samuel 1:10 says, “Hannah was in deep anguish, crying bitterly as she prayed to the LORD.”
Something about the feeling within us that leads to the tears can connect us to others, it connects us with the Lord and His heart, and can connects us with the desperation and need that others are experiencing.
John 11:35 says, “Jesus wept.”
Psalm 34:18 promises us that “the Lord is close to the brokenhearted.”
And what about “tears of joy” and the tears that don’t come from any kind of sadness or situation, they just come out of a heart filled with gratefulness, with thankfulness and joy? Maybe I’ll have the words to explain what the Lord is showing me about these kinds of tears soon… ?
The Lord has got me on a journey of gaining an understanding of “tears” – what they mean, what they do, what they represent. I see it as a tremendous blessing. Our tears, regardless of what kind, bring us closer to the heart of God. ?
“…for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.” – Revelation 7:17
-Heather ?