Tears are a Language, Part 2
Tears are a language. We don’t purposefully turn on the tears trying to get God to do something for us. Genuine tears come from the heart. There can be happy tears, but there can be tears that come from a broken place within. The presence of tears is not a lack of faith, unless the tears come from a place of doubting God. Doubt may come, but we must not allow doubt to stay. We may cry when fear comes, but we must not allow fear to stay. We must resist fear, in Jesus’ Name. We must declare the Promises of God concerning our situation even when it doesn’t look like it is working.
Hezekiah was told by the prophet Isaiah that the Lord had said that he would die. Hezekiah prayed and wept bitterly (2 Kings 20:3). The Lord told Isaiah to go back to Hezekiah and say, “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears. Behold, I am healing you…” (v. 5). Jeremiah 31:16, “Thus saith the Lord; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord; and they (your children) shall come again from the land of the enemy.” God is not rebuking us for the tears. The one who prays from a broken place over their children, will be heard by the Lord if they are trusting Him to bring their children back from satan’s bondage. The son of a man was bound by a dumb spirit. He brought him to Jesus for deliverance, and Jesus said to the father, “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth” (Mark 9:23). The father replied with tears, “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief” (v.24). Once again, Jesus didn’t rebuke the man for his tears; He delivered the man’s son. Paul even said in Acts 20:19, “Serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears…” He said in verse 31 that he "ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.” Again in 2 Corinthians 2:4, Paul says, “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.”
We read in Luke 7 that a woman from the city that was a sinner (may have been a prostitute) came to Jesus. She had brought an alabaster box of ointment and anointed the feet of Jesus’ with the oil. Scripture says in verse 38, “…(she) began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet…” Jesus replies to her in v.48&50, “Thy sins are forgiven. Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.” The woman came to Jesus in her brokenness, releasing her tears upon His feet. She came in faith and her sins were forgiven.
We know that tears are not a sign that we are in doubt. We are coming to Jesus trusting Him to work in our brokenness; to move on our behalf. John 11:35 tells us that Jesus had gone to Lazarus’ house and asked where that he had been laid. They were leading Jesus to the site, and we read, “Jesus wept.” Even though He knew that He would raise Him up, He felt the brokenness of Martha and Mary and the sorrow felt by us when we lose those that we love to death.
We read in Hebrews 5:7 concerning Jesus, “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;” This is the cup that Jesus petitioned the Father to let it pass from him. There was suffering and death. Jesus sought the Father with bitter tears concerning this until His sweat became as great drops of blood. Jesus accepted the call of God to offer Himself as the sacrifice for all mankind. (Matthew 26:37-42).
Jesus certainly shed tears, and He never failed nor came short of the glory of God. The Word does give us good news. “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away” (Revelation 21:4). Brothers and sisters, until our tears be wiped away, let your tears flow. The Lord hears the voice of your weeping, hears your supplication, receives your prayer, and your enemies stand ashamed and greatly horrified. (Psalm 6:6-10). Amen!