There are many types of tears. Tears of sadness, tears of joy, tears of anger, tears of pain, tears that are shared, tears that are cried all alone, and sometimes the tears that just won’t come to the surface. But the worst tears are the ones that others don’t seem to notice. Those are the forgotten tears.
When I think of all the tears I have cried over the years, I imagine the storage unit to contain them all would have to be rather large. It really isn’t that I am a sad person. In fact, most of my days are filled with joy (sometimes that joy may be harder to find but it is there!). But I find it easy to tear up over a sentimental movie, when talking about my faith and my family, when singing songs of praise, and especially when I stop to realize the blessings in life. And when friends come to me with tears in their eyes, my eyes begin to well up too. A sincere heart gets me every time!
But then there are the harder tears. The ones shed over a heavy heart. The tears (and sometimes invisible tears) that relate to grief. Those are the ones that occasionally catch us off guard. Even when we think we are past it or have moved on, grief just has a way sometimes of sneaking back up on us. Grief usually accompanies a loss in our lives whether it is through death or the loss of a relationship. Perhaps it is a certain time of the year, hearing a song, or just thinking of our loved one that reminds us of our loss. And even though we trust in Christ’s sovereignty, His timing, and His plan, our sadness is real. This grief is hard for us to understand and it is sometimes hard for those around us to understand. It feels like these are the forgotten tears.
In a recent sermon, I heard our preacher teach from a verse that I had overlooked. It was Psalm 56:8. This verse makes it abundantly clear that our tears are never forgotten by our Savior. He keeps tracks of all our sorrows. He collects our tears in His bottle. He has lovingly recorded each one.
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Our tears are important to our loving Heavenly Father and even when it feels like no one else understands, He is there collecting our tears, tracking our sorrows, and providing His comfort and peace. He is the only one who can turn our sorrow into joy.
And here’s something I love. Jesus understands our grief because He knows what it feels like to shed tears. Remember the shortest verse in the Bible?
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When Jesus was here on earth, He wept over the death of Lazarus. Not because he died (He knew he could raise him from the dead which he did later on). He cried because of the shared grief He felt with Lazarus’ sisters Mary and Martha. My friends, when we are hurting, our loving Lord understands, He cares, He even shares our tears.
My prayer is that we run to Jesus with our tears. That we share our grief with Him. That we allow His comfort and peace to turn our sorrow into joy. And trust that in Him our tears are never forgotten. May we also seek out those with hurting hearts who need our comfort and compassion and serve as a light to lead them to Jesus.
I had the privilege to write for Arkansas Women Bloggers this week! Click here to read a short devotional titled Back in my Day.
