Those that sow in tears shall reap in joy. Psalm 126:5
Job knew the Lord regarded his tears:
My friends scorn me; but mine eye poureth out tears unto God. Job 16:20
Tears of frustration:
When you want to obey but you don’t know which decision to make.
The answer is not yet quite clear.
Tears of prayer:
Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of My people,
Thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy father,
I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold,
I will heal thee: on the third day
thou shalt go up unto the house of the Lord. 2 Kings 20:5
Extreme Sadness:
I am weary with my groaning; all the night make I my bed to swim;
I water my couch with my tears. Psalm 6:6
God gathers our tears:
Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle:
are they not in thy book? Psalm 56:8
One of the most beautiful things of the Old Testament is that
God shares His heart. God cries.
For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am black;
astonishment hath taken hold on Me.
Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there?
why then is not the health of the daughter of My people recovered?
Oh that My head were waters, and Mine eyes a fountain of tears,
that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of My people!
Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men;
that I might leave My people, and go from them!
for they be all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men.
And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies:
but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth;
for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not Me, saith the Lord.
Jeremiah 8:21-9:3
If it’s a little hard to grasp, it could be because you are not used to it.
When God blesses and makes His judgments,
He is sharing His heart with us.
In this instance, He was grieving over His people not knowing Him,
over not serving Him.
Be keen by His Holy Spirit.
He wants to us all to know Him intimately.
Tears can be for cleansing and toward repentance:
Yet hear the word of the Lord, O ye women,
and let your ear receive the word of his mouth,
and teach your daughters wailing,
and every one her neighbour lamentation. Jeremiah 9:20
God’s prophet weeps for His people, feeling the heart of God:
But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride;
and mine eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears,
because the Lord’s flock is carried away captive. Jeremiah 13:17
Tears of worship:
And stood at His feet behind him weeping,
and began to wash His feet with tears,
and did wipe them with the hairs of her head,
and kissed His feet, and anointed them with the ointment. Luke 7:38
We all know the shortest verse in the Bible: Jesus Wept John 11:35
Did Jesus cry because of compassion and His ability to carry their sorrows?
They had seen miracles performed by Jesus.
But there their brother lay dead in a tomb.
And Jesus groaned within Himself.
He surely didn’t cry because Lazarus died.
Jesus knew He was going to be raised from the dead.
Some say He wept because of their unbelief.
Not sure I am in alignment with that one.
Jesus was very frank. I think if that was why He cried, He would’ve said that.
Tears of affliction
For out of much affliction and anguish of heart
I wrote unto you with many tears;
not that ye should be grieved,
but that ye might know the love
which I have more abundantly unto you. 2 Corinthians 2:4
For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them,
and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters:
and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. Revelation 7:17