I confess I’m a crier. I cry at movies, at baseball games when the national anthem is played, at graduations, weddings, and funerals. I cry when I hear a sad story, when someone else cries, when I share what God has done in my life, when I’m angry, and even when I laugh hard enough.
I hate the fact that I cry so easily. It can be incredibly embarrassing for one thing. And for another, it puts people in an awkward position. But crying can be a good thing! God created tears — it is in his design that we cry.
I love the Psalms because they give us beautiful pictures of what our intimate relationship with God is like. And Psalm 56:8 gives us one of those snapshots of God’s tenderness with us when we are experiencing incredible sorrow in our life.
“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, NLT).
I’m sure I have a very BIG bottle!
God not only keeps track of all our sorrows, hurts, and heartaches, he has recorded them in his book. Every tear we’ve cried he has stored in our bottle, the one he keeps just for us.
I wonder, does my bottle have my name on it? Is it a special color? I wonder if God, my Father, looks at my bottle full of tears and says, “Ah, that one is my daughter, Kristi’s! Her bottle of tears is so precious to me and I treasure each one. I am intimately acquainted with all her ways and I love her. When she has cried tears that no one sees, I have seen. I know and cherish each one because I cherish her.”
What a beautiful gentle picture this is of our God — a Father who tenderly collects our tears and holds them close to his heart.
Have you ever stopped to consider that God is keeping track of all your sorrows? He knows each one of them. He has seen you cry until you can’t cry any more. He has witnessed your heartache over a difficult child, a wayward spouse, a broken friendship, or the death of a loved one. He has seen your tears when you have cried all alone in the dark, not sure of where to turn or where to go. He has recorded each one in his book and collected your tears in the bottle he has just for you. How precious you are to him!
Let the tears flow and know that your God cares for you intimately and with great passion!