Psalm 56:8

Your tears in His bottle!

By Helen Jesze, 28^th June 2018

In the film Quo Vadis (Where are you going?) mad Emperor Nero of Rome calls for his tear-bottle to shed a tear or two into it, on hearing of the death of his adviser, Petronius. It is thought by some that the custom of crying tears into a bottle originated in Roman times, yet we read in Psalm 56, 8 that David the Psalmist, said God had put all his tears into His bottle, hundreds of years before.

Whether God literally has a bottle for our tears, or one gigantic bottle where He puts the tears of all who cry to Him, we cannot say, and it’s not really important to know that. What this verse is trying to tell us is that God sees our tears, His ears are open to our cry. Psalm 147, 3 tells us: “He heals the broken-hearted and binds up their wounds.” He is not a blind, deaf, lifeless piece of wood, clay, stone, silver or gold – just a dead idol to whom we call, but He is the God of the Universe, reaching out to us in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who Himself, was called “a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53,3).

God encourages us today with these words: “Cast all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you,” 1 Peter 5,7; the burdened are invited to find their rest in Him: “Come unto me all you who labour and are heavy-laden and I will give you rest,” Matt. 11,28 and He promises that one day “…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” Rev. 21, 4.

Whether our tears are for a long-standing sorrow, or for a new situation which has broken upon us and pulls the rug out from under our feet, Jesus wants to hold us steady at this time, and picks us up, tears and all, and gathers us to His breast, whispering words of comfort and confidence into our ear.

Sometimes we think God does not see us, or has gone over to the other side of Heaven, leaving us to come out of our grief and mess ourselves. I was once the speaker at a ladies’ meeting in Europe. After I had finished the message the Lord gave me a prophecy, which began like this:

“You have hidden yourself in a corner, hiding from other people and from me, and you think no-one, not even I will know you are here. But I have seen you, says the Lord, and on this day I will bring you out of your corner, and heal your heart, for you have been crushed and your heart has been broken…”

I looked down the long, narrow hall; there was a dark-haired young lady in the corner by the door, and I knew this prophecy was for her. I had already given an invitation for those who wanted prayer, but as we were so squashed in, the pastor’s wife and her team and I just went and prayed for the ladies where they sat. I went to this young lady in the corner and later heard her story. She and her husband went to another church and he was a deacon there. Her husband had been constantly busy with church duties when he came home from work and at the weekend. She and the children hardly ever saw him, and in a moment of weakness, she started an affair with a young man from the church. After a while, she broke it off, knowing it was wrong, and told her husband and the pastor.

The pastor, instead of assuring her that God would forgive and cleanse her from this sin, used to single her out when he was preaching, making remarks like: “Here sits an adulteress”, and look down at her. Sally (name changed) was crushed, and cried to God to deliver her from this burden. And because He is the God who puts our tears in His bottle and hears the cry of a repentant heart, He reached out to her that day as she hid in the corner, and began a healing process in Sally’s life. I kept in contact with her for quite a while, and could see how she was being restored by our magnificent God of compassion!

Let me encourage YOU today that your cries and tears have also been heard and seen by this same God. Turn to Him today, don’t hide in shame but let Him restore you, spirit, soul and body. Even if the circumstances are not changed at the moment, or whether they can never be changed in the future, nevertheless, the sorrow can be lifted from your heart by the One who was a Man of sorrows, but who now is the glorious, risen Son of God. Jesus was our Substitute, meaning He bore our rejection, sorrow and sin, so that this power can be broken over our lives. A new future awaits you today!

Prayer: Father in Heaven, I pray you will touch the lives of every one of my friends who are reading this, that you will bring healing and comfort to those whose life is dark and sad at the moment, wholeness to those shattered by Life’s problems, and pour the Balm of Gilead your Word speaks about, into their hearts. “…weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning!” Ps. 30, 5b. Thank you, thank you, Lord! Amen