Never be afraid or ashamed to cry. Tears are not a bad thing. We have made them so in our society. We have declared that people who are strong don’t cry. But that’s not a biblical concept, only a warped cultural idea. Truth be told, tears are good.
“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, author’s emphasis). I don’t see much scriptural precedent for God collecting things. With the exception of people for His kingdom, the Lord doesn’t seem to hang on to very many things. Yet, it says that He collects our tears. Apparently they’re pretty valuable to God.
Jesus was clearly pleased with the woman who washed His feet with her tears (Luke 7). He didn’t shun her. In fact, to the Pharisee who looked down on her actions, Jesus spoke positively about what she had done.
Bob Sorge, in his book Between the Lines, said this: “Covet tears. Tears are liquid prayer. Just as the nectar of squeezed fruit is sweet, so are the tears that come from a crushed heart are sweet to God.”
Forget the worldly notion that tears are a sign of weakness. They’re part of how the Lord designed pain—and sometimes joy—to come out of us. It’s a piece—perhaps even a large piece—of how those things are supposed to be expressed. And, from God’s perspective, it seems they are highly valued.
To Make You Think 