The Place of Tears in Our Lives

The power and the chemistry of tears in the life of a Christian.

• Crying has a wonderful place in a Christian experience. In the King James Bible the term “cry” or “crying” is not necessarily to do with tears but rather calling out. It is sometimes used in calling out for crying out in anguish and therefore tears were included.

• In the King James Bible the term weep, weeping and tears are used when we might say cry or crying today.

As a young boy growing up in boarding schools in the age of 5 ½

years I never cried.

• The only time that I was told that I had cried, as a young man, was when I was drunk and apparently missing my mother. I didn’t even cry when I was hurt and certainly not in front of anybody.

I had to become born-again by the Grace of God to faith deny Lord Jesus Christ to realise the beneficial effect of shedding

tears and crying.

• Since I’ve known the Lord I’m not ashamed to say that I have cried heaps of tears, great puddles of tears.

• The ability to shed tears and cry is a wonderful God-given emotion that we all need to experience from time to time.

• Fortunately there will come a time when there will be no more tears – look at:

Revelation 7:17

• 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.

Heartfelt sorrow of repentance and a contrite heart is one time when we

should cry hot tears:

JAM 4:8–10

• Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

• 9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.

• 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

This passage concerns Christians who are living hypocritical and

unrighteous lines.

• Remember that godly sorrow works repentance and that godly sorrow is often accompanied by mourning and weeping.

• Clearly tears have a great effect, especially when they come from a truly contrite heart, but sometimes we might find ourselves like Esau:

• Esau was sorry that he missed out on his birthright not that he had sold out for the sake of a meal. He wanted his birthright but he couldn’t see how he had despised his right to it.

HEB 12:15–17

• Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;

• 16 Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.

• 17 For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.

• It is not the tears of self-pity or shame for change’s sake that will move the heart of God, it is the tears of true repentance, that is a sorrow that is born not because we were found out but because we know we were wrong before we were found out:

HEB 5:7–8

• Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;

• 8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;

Sometimes we have to learn obedience from the things which we suffer and

this is a good place for the tears.

We should not be ashamed to cry.

• Somebody once tried to calculate the volume of tears that have flowed from the eyes of mankind since Adam and eve were in the garden.

• Tears have a wonderful chemistry and a profound effect upon our lives as Christians.

• We should not be afraid to cry and to weep because godly weeping does us a great deal of good.

• There are many legitimate causes for our tears to flow and we should be people who will weep and shed tears often, don’t let your tears make you ashamed of crying them.

• When we seek to minister to people and to help them spiritually we will often shed tears even as a righteous parent sheds tears for their children.

Acts 20:31

• Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.

Look at this as well:

• Philippians 3:18 (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:

2 Corinthians 2:4

• 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.

Stirred up Christians often cry and shed tears:

We do remember the tears of others

• 2 Timothy 1:4 Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy;

• We can even join others in their tears and weep with them:

• Romans 12:15 Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.

• It is perfectly in order for us to shed tears over one another even when we mistakenly misunderstand the intention:

Acts 20:37

• And they all wept sore, and fell on Paul's neck, and kissed him,

• Acts 21:13 Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.

• The sense completely misunderstood Paul’s intention but they wept nonetheless and kissed his neck and soaked his clothes with their tears.

• Don’t you think he remembered these hot tears shed by his friends when later he was in prison in Rome or when he was left for dead on the highway or when he felt alone and abandoned by many of the Christians that he had spent his life ministering to?

Don’t be ashamed to pray and to cry with hot tears for people.

• You can even let people see that your crying for them but be careful not to be a hypocrite about it.

• Tears in the closet before tears in the congregation – never cry just to show, that destroys the purpose of tears.

• It is perfectly normal to have a broken heart and it is perfectly normal to shed tears when you consider loss and estrangement from people that you love.

• Stirred up Christians, rejoicing Christians often shed tears and weep:

• Acts 20:19 Serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears, and temptations, which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews:

• Even I Lord Jesus shed tears, although the onlookers misunderstood why he was actually crying:

• John 11:35 Jesus wept.

• They thought he was crying because of the death of his friend but he was actually crying because of the manifold unbelief people of Jerusalem.

• It is perfectly all right to shed tears when you know that you have been forgiven much and you know that you are a sinner saved by Grace.

• It is perfectly okay to shed tears round the table the Lord not because so much as for the pain that he endured but for the shame of the sins that you committed that made it necessary for him to endure the pain and suffering of the cross:

Luke 7:44

• And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head.

Luke 7:13

• And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not.

• Always remember that when you are in the midst of crying and weeping and those hot tears flowing down your cheeks that it is the purpose of God to touch you and to restore your estate,

Luke 6:21

• Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh.

One of the reasons that we Christians weep is when we come to our senses and

realise that we are sinning and grieving the holy spirit,

• We cry when the realisation hits us that we have failed in our best intentions:

• Mark 14:72 And the second time the cock crew. And Peter called to mind the word that Jesus said unto him, Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. And when he thought thereon, he wept.

• Sometimes weeping helps us come to a realisation that we believe and have faith:

Mark 9:24

• And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.

Sometimes we weep because our morning is so deep and great that we

think that there is no relief or comfort to be had:

Matthew 2:18

• In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.

• Tears alone are not sufficient because we can cry crocodile tears – real enough to us but not coming from a pure and sound heart of true repentance and truly contrite spirit because we do not really want to walk in true Holiness.

MAL 2:13–16

• And this have ye done again, covering the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping, and with crying out, insomuch that he regardeth not the offering any more, or receiveth it with good will at your hand.

• 14 Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant.

• 15 And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth.

• 16 For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away: for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the LORD of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously.

• Make certain that you are not dealing with the Lord Jesus in a treacherous manner and your tears will water the good seed of his word that is planted within your heart.

Oh the power and the wonder of our tears before the Lord Jesus!