Every Tear is Precious
You have seen me tossing and turning through the night.
You have collected all my tears and preserved them in your bottle!
You have recorded every one in your book.
(Psalm 56:8 TLB)
Tears are the way our body releases stress, grief, anxiety, and frustration. There are three types of tears: continuous, reflex, and healing. Continuous keeps our eyes lubricated, reflex cleans out foreign particles like dust and allergens, and emotional tears release stress hormones, which is why we often feel calmer and more relaxed after a good cry.1 There is tremendous healing power in tears.
When emotional tears flow from pain and anguish, we sometimes wonder if He really sees our pain, if He really cares. Often, we ask, “Where are you, Lord?”
But God is always right by our side. He sees every tear we weep, and He holds each one close to His heart. David said, “The Lord has heard the voice of my weeping” (Psalm 6:8 NKJV). A single teardrop is enough to summon the King of Kings to your side.
“Jesus wept.” This is the shortest verse in the Bible (well, in English anyway; there are two shorter ones if you read them in Greek). At the tomb of Lazarus, the Lord wept. Not because Lazarus was dead. He knew He was moments away from raising Him from the dead. He wept for the heartache of the sisters and for the pain and death that sin had brought into this world.
Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, shows us the value God puts on tears. He was one of God’s greatest prophets, but also one with the softest of hearts. He shed so many tears over Israel, God must have a few hundred bottles holding them.
I believe the one set of tears that must have been particularly precious to the Lord were the tears wept by His anguished, broken disciple, Peter, when Peter realized had betrayed his Friend and Lord.
Tears are as necessary for our spiritual growth as water is to grow seeds into plants. Tears will make you into a stronger Christian and, more than likely, a kinder, more understanding one. So go ahead and weep. Ignore anyone who tries to tell you it is a sign of weakness. Just point them to David, Jeremiah, Peter, and Jesus, and tell them you are in great company.
