PREVIEW: It is likely that no one truly knows the depth of what you are feeling right now. Maybe no one will ever see those tears that have rolled down your cheek—and the intense hurt that caused them. Even if they see your tears, how sad it is that long before your pain is healed, people will forget and move on. But there is One who sees…and One who cares…and One who never forgets. And he wants you to know that, my friend. And that One, your Heavenly Father, simply asks you to take comfort in his compassion and to place your trust in him.
A Journey of Worship // Psalm 56:8
You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.
Aren’t tears a mysterious part of what it means to be human? It is strange that we have the capacity to cry—to expel water from our eyes when we are sad. It seems to serve no real purpose—although science can explain the physiological “why,” and mental health experts can explain the psychological “why.”
That still leaves the question of “why tears”—why were we created with that capacity?
Perhaps this psalm provides a clue. Maybe they are to remind us that God cares about the things that make us sad enough to shed tears. So much does he bear our sorrow that he collects our tears in a bottle, as the New Living Translation says, or as other versions put it, “he records them in his ledger.” In other words, God takes note—implying that he is not only aware of our sadness, but he will not forget it.
What is it that is making you cry today? A heart broken by a fractured relationship? A dashed hope or the death of a dream? A failed family? A personal sin? The consequences of a past mistake that continues to haunt you? What is it that you feel such deep sadness over?
It is likely that no one truly knows the depth of what you are feeling right now. Maybe no one will ever see those tears that have rolled down your cheek—and the intense hurt that caused them. Even if they do see your tears, how sad it is that long before your pain is healed, people will forget and move on.
There is One who sees…and One who cares…and One who never forgets. And he wants you to know that, my friend. And that One, your Heavenly Father, simply asks you to take comfort in his compassion (Psalm 103:13), and to place your trust in him. In fact, so strongly does he desire your trust, that he repeats the invitation twice for emphasis.
I praise God for what he has promised. I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me? … I praise God for what he has promised; yes, I praise the Lord for what he has promised. I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me? (Psalm 56:4,10-11)
I hope you will do that. Entrust those tears to God. And let the very next tear that fills your eyes and spills down your cheek be a reminder that your tears never just dry up and fade into a painful memory, they go right into the bottle of that One who truly cares!
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