The Ministry of Tears

I was reading in Psalm 127 about Israel's return to Zion.

They had been in the Babylonian captivity for seventy years and when they were released to return to their homeland, their mouths were filled with laughter and singing. They praised the LORD for the great things He had done for them.

And then comes the familiar verses. "Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy. He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him."

My Bible notes gave some references of other kinds of weeping and I looked them up and share them here with some thoughts. Charles Spurgeon defined the 'ministry of tears' as 'liquid prayer.'

The Bible says that our tears are very important to God. He cares. He collects our tears in a bottle. He will answer our cries because He is for us. (Ps.56:8,9)

1) Tears of Sorrow or Suffering-11 Kings 20:5-

Hezekiah, being sick and about to die, sought God earnestly and wept bitterly. The LORD spoke to him through Isaiah, saying, "I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will heal you...and I will add to your days, 15 more years..."
Isaiah then told his caretakers to put a poultice of figs on Hezekiah's boil and through God's miraculous intervention and also, through the obedience to the wisdom of natural medicine, Hezekiah was healed. Hezekiah used some of his extra time wisely-making a pool and a tunnel and bringing water into the city, and some of his extra time not so wisely-showing the whole of his treasure to the Babylonians. My mother used to say that she wondered if he ever regretted receiving those extra years, but you can read the rest of the story, and decide for yourself.

2) Tears of Joy-Genesis 33:4-

Jacob had wronged Esau by taking away his birthright during a moment of weakness in Esau's life, and again, later, when he deceived their father into giving him Esau's blessing. He then fled for his life at the encouragement of his parents in order to escape being killed by Esau. After many years of living with his relatives and acquiring two wives and quite a few children, he was returning to his homeland with his family, his servants, and all of his animals. When Jacob saw Esau in the distance he kept going towards him, bowing, bowing, bowing, bowing, bowing, bowing, bowing..."but Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept."
Makes me weep too.
They were not only brothers, after all.
They were twins.
And they were restored.

3) Tears of Compassion-John 11:35-

Two little words.
"Jesus wept."

Jesus had waited when He had received the urgent message from Mary and Martha that His friend, their brother Lazarus, was sick unto death. They wanted Jesus to come and heal him, but Jesus waited awhile. When He finally arrived on the scene, Lazarus had been dead four days. The sisters rebuked Jesus, saying, "Lord, if you had been here, Lazarus would not have died."

Jesus saw them weeping and all the Jews with them weeping and He groaned and was troubled and said, "Where have you laid him?" and they said, "Lord, come and see." And it was then that Jesus wept. He wept the way they do in that culture and I think we'd all be better off if we did too. It was obvious that He was weeping and He probably made noise because people noticed it. They said, "See how He loved him. See how He cared..."

I love this story.
They wanted a healing.
And He gave them a resurrection,
even though He knew that performing
this miracle would put Him on
Israel's Most Wanted List.

He wanted to help people believe in Him.
He wanted to increase their faith.
And He wanted to help Mary and
the others close to Him
to understand
the meaning behind His words,
" I will rise again after the third day."
How could they know what 'resurrection' meant?
And so, He gave them a preview.


4)Tears of Desperation-Esther 4:1,3-

Haman had tricked the king into signing a document
that set in motion the actions that would
destroy the Jewish people.
Mordecai, Esther's Uncle, heard the news,
tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes,
and went out into the midst of the city,
crying and weeping loudly
and with bitterness of soul.
Every Jew that heard the decree gave way
to loud mourning. They fasted
and laid down in sackcloth and ashes.

When Esther found out what was going on,
she was faced with the disconcerting fact
that she was put in the palace as queen
for such a time as this.
She intervened on behalf of her people
at the risk of her own life
and the Jewish people were not only saved
from their enemies,
but many of their enemies
were destroyed as well.

5) Tears of Travail or Giving Birth-Isaiah 4:14-

"I have held My peace a long time,
I have been still and restrained Myself.
Now I will cry like a woman in labor,
I will pant and gasp at once!"

(Boy, isn't that the truth.)

I'm not sure if I get this exactly,
but I think it means that God had withheld
intervening on behalf of His children
and the time had finally come for Him to straighten
things out and help His own to return to Him.

Because, it goes on to say,
"I will bring the blind by a way they do not know-
I will make crooked places straight.
These things I will do for them,
And not forsake them."

I think God still travails over His children today,
as we turn to other gods instead of to Him
and we reap evil instead of the good He so
longs to give us.
I am so thankful He steps in
and labors over us,
bringing us into the righteousness
that is our inheritance through
His Son, Jesus Christ,
much as a woman in labor,
brings forth her child into the world.

6) Tears of Repentance-Joel 2:12,13-

God the LORD is calling His people back to Him,
saying, "Now, therefore, Turn to Me
with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, with mourning.
So rend your hearts,
and not your garments;
Return to the LORD your God,
For He is gracious and merciful."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tears of sorrow.
Tears of joy.
Tears of compassion.
Tears of desperation.
Tears of travail.
Tears of repentance.

Those who sow tears of
sorrow,
joy,
compassion,
desperation,
travail,
and repentance,
shall reap in joy.

He who continually goes forth
weeping tears of
sorrow,
joy,
compassion,
desperation,
travail,
and repentance,
shall doubtless come again with rejoicing,
bringing his sheaves with him.

A great harvest of:
1-answered prayer
2-restoration
3- people knowing you care for them
4-spared lives
5-loved ones birthed into the kingdom of God
6-righteousness


Do you weep a lot?
You don't need to feel bad about that anymore.

If you would like to weep more,
just pray and ask God
to give you His heart for people.

While you're at it,
ask Him to open your undertanding
so you can know, at least in part,
how much He loves you, too.

And then, carry tissues with you,
wherever you go.