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We have a Father who
keeps track of all our wanderings and catches every single tear we cry - God
cares intimately about you, sees what you are struggling under, and is with you
and for you
Sheila Walsh
When
I opened the gift from my friend, I wasn’t quite sure what it was.
The
small glass bottle was a beautiful cobalt blue, about two inches tall, covered
in sliver filigree.
I
thought it might be a perfume bottle, albeit a very small one, but her note
explained that it was actually a tear bottle she’d found in an antique store in
Israel.
I
did a little research and discovered that tear bottles were common in Rome and
Egypt around the time of Christ.
Mourners
would collect their tears as they walked toward the graveyard to bury their
loved one, a tangible indication of how much that person was loved.
Sometimes
women were even paid to follow the mourners and cry into such a vessel.
Apparently,
the more anguish and tears produced, the more important and valued the deceased
person was perceived to be.
But
legend has it those mourners-for-hire who cried the loudest and produced the
most tears received the greatest compensation.
I
treasure this little blue bottle because it reminds me of a profound spiritual
truth David wrote about in Psalm 56, when he was at one of the lowest points of
his life.
David had been captured by his enemies in Gath (he had
actually feigned insanity to survive), but he found comfort in the fact that
God saw everything he was going through and caught every single tear he shed.
I love David’s confidence in the mercy and
faithfulness of God even when he himself had not been faithful to the Holy One.
David knew without a doubt that Almighty God never
misses a moment, a tear, or a sigh from any of His children.
Do you rest in that truth, or do you question that God
loves you that much?
If you’ve taken a wrong turn in the road, are you
expecting God to hold back His mercy until you get back on the straight and
narrow?
That’s not the God David knew; that’s not the God of
the Bible.
We have a Father who keeps track of all our wanderings
and catches every single tear we cry.
When we begin to grasp the depth of that truth, we can
say with confidence just as David did,
“This I know: God is on my side!” — Psalm 56:9
Five Minutes in the Word
“You have
kept count of my tossings; put my tears in Your bottle. Are they not in Your
book?” — Psalm 56:8
“The Lord
hears His people when they call to Him for help. He rescues them from all their
troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; He rescues those whose
spirits are crushed.” — Psalm 34:17-18
“He heals
the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds.” — Psalm 147:3
“Those who
sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy!” — Psalm 126:5
“Blessed
are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” — Matthew 5:4
Excerpted with permission from 5 Minutes with Jesus by
Sheila Walsh, copyright Thomas Nelson.
Your Turn
One of the most insidious lies of the enemy is that we
are completely alone in our sufferings.
Rest today in the truths of Scripture that God cares
intimately about you, sees what you are struggling under, and is with you and
for you.
Come join the conversation on our blog. We want to
hear from you about knowing that God is present in our difficulties and
heartbreak. ~ Laurie McClure, editor
Sheila Walsh is a powerful
Bible teacher and best-selling author from Scotland with over 4 million books
sold. A featured speaker with Women of Faith® conferences, she has reached more
than 3.5 million women by combining honesty, vulnerability, and humor with
God's Word. Currently completing her Masters in Theology, Sheila lives in
Frisco, Texas with her husband, Barry, her son, Christian, and her two little
dogs, Belle and Tink.
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https://www.faithgateway.com/bottle-of-your-tears/#.XoEcQkAzbcs
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