Sermon Follow Up - Psalm 56

With grandchild #4 set to arrive soon, I was reminiscing recently about the births of our own children the other day and a flood of memories came to mind.

I remember very distinctly how uncomfortable it felt for me to be in the delivery room for the births of each of our children, but especially our first, Kaylyn. I know that Annette was far more uncomfortable than I but truth be told, I don’t think it would be possible for me to be more “out my element” than I was that day.

Despite the fact that I had read every resource that I could get my hands on that would prepare me for what to expect in the delivery room and to assist Annette in whatever way that I could through the birthing process, I was not much assistance. She told me so herself!

For me, the whole day is a blur. It was scary, thrilling, beautiful, and gross…all at the same time.
One thing that does stand out for me about that day is hearing Kaylyn cry for the first time. That sound was equally comforting and terrifying in that her cry simultaneously let me know that she was okay and also that she wasn’t, Her first cry told me that this child’s life had started, and that our lives just changed.

While that was her first cry, it wouldn’t be her last. Tears would flow and need to be dried due to wasp stings, skinned knees, bad days, heartbreaks and an wide variety of other things.
The truth is, crying is not relegated to delivery rooms, toddler tumbles, or Middle School years…shedding tears is an integral part of all life, for all of us. Whether through grieving death, dealing with disappointment, being filled with dread, or suffering the consequences of decisions, as we live our lives in a fallen world…tears will flow.

As we read from Psalm 56 this past Sunday at North Anderson, I was reminded of this reality in verse 8, “You yourself have recorded my wanderings. Put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book?”

In that beautiful, intimate passage of scripture, I was reminded of a few truths concerning our tears.

Your God knows and cares about your tears.
The portrait that the Psalmist paints for us is a powerful one: The Lord placing our tears in a bottle.

What does that mean?

I thing that it is a poignant way of saying that our God is well aware of our sorrows and struggles. He knows every tear that you shed. In Matthews Gospel, we’re reminded by the Lord Jesus that if your God knows and cares for the birds of the air and all other living creatures, He certainly knows and cares about us.

The Psalmist is assuring us that our Lord knows when we have shed tears over the loss of a loved one or the spiritual condition of someone that we care for. He knows and cares about your tearful experiences. He has your tears in a bottle.

The passage also describes our God as Divine Accountant, of sorts. He records your tears on a scroll or a ledger. He does so not that He needs to be reminded of them but, rather, it is a way of helping you know that your tears are sacred.

How comforting is it to know that when Jesus shed tears over Jerusalem because the city’s people were unfaithful and unresponsive to the message, His tears are in a bottle and in a ledger. When Jesus was moved to tears over the loss of Lazarus, His tears are in a bottle. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus shed tears like drops of blood. Those tears are in a bottle and in a ledger.

What a word of solace for us! Those tears are so sacred and precious. They have significance to us in those tough moments of life. They are also vitally important to our God, who loves us and cares for us with a level of tenderness that cannot even be captured by our words.
Our pain is not unnoticed, our grief is not ignored, our hurt is not overlooked, and our tears are not unnoted. Our God cares.

Because God knows and cares about your tears, you know He is for you.

The Psalmist declare in verse 9, “...This I know, God is for me.”

God is for you! What a declaration! What a reassurance! What a comfort!
As mentioned Sunday, I really believe Paul had this text in mind when he said, “If God is for us, who can be against us?”

Paul was ridiculed for his faith, he must have shed some tears. His Lord placed them in a bottle. When Paul was imprisoned for his proclamation of the Gospel, he had to have had his tearful moments. Those tears were placed in a bottle. When Paul sat in a maritime prison, his impending execution looking just ahead, he was lonely and no doubt, anxious, but he was confident. His God was for him!

Paul’s tears, and our tears, are never wasted.

What a helpful and encouraging reminder from Psalm 56. We can trust God with our lives, the good and the bad. We can know that HE KNOWS and therefore, no matter the circumstance, we can praise God and worship Him with all of our heart, mind, and soul.