as I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. [2 timothy 1:4]
our God is a God of emotions – who even weeps alongside us. it is hard to imagine our God weeping. it seems weak … not majestic or all-powerful. it is hard to believe he truly grieves. grieving often seems like a waste of time to us. it is hard to imagine our God weeping for joy! seems so … well, just not like we picture God. do you associate our God with tears – in any way?
- therefore I (God) weep with the weeping of jazer for the vine of sibmah; i drench you with my tears, [isaiah 16:9]
- he (Jesus) was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; [isaiah 53:3]
- out of the anguish of his soul he (God) shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. [isaiah 53:11]
- and when he drew near and saw the city, he (Jesus) wept over it, [luke 19:41]
- Jesus wept. [john 11:35]
- and do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. [eph 4:30]
- in the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, … [hebrews 5:7]
in all these passages, we see our God weeping, grieving, crying out – God the Father, Son, and Spirit. all of God knows what it is like to be brought to tears by the brokenness of this world. our God doesn’t cry out of weakness. no! he weeps because his beauty and holiness is being distorted by our brokenness. he weeps because he knows how sin (brokenness) hurts us.
when was the last time, you were brought to tears by the brokenness of this world. you may say, “i’m not a crier.” not asking if you are. simply asking this, when was the last time the brokenness of this world made you like our God – one who grieves brokenness. you see, the brokenness of this world is not the way things were meant to be. God made this world perfect – without a crack, distortion, or perversion. yet, we broke it with our sin. and, when we encounter the brokenness of this world, it often hurts, wounds, and causes us grief. for timothy, something about this broken world led him to cry. maybe, it was when he and his spiritual father, paul, parted. whatever it was, there were tears. and in this moment, he reflected the beauty of his God. amazing! even in our tears, we can reflect the beauty of our God.
today as you sit in the presence of God, thank him for the tears you have shed as you have encountered this broken world. thank him for those tears. they are a reminder that you are a lot more like your Father than you think, that you reflect his beauty even in tears, and that others get to see the beauty and holiness of God in your tears.
let’s thank him together … now.