Put my tears in Your bottle …

— Psalm 56:8

As far as we know, God does not cry. As far as we know, neither do angels. I also believe that in the sense that we know the term, animals don’t cry either—though I confess that some of them do something that looks like it. Tears seem to be in the economy of God’s providence—something reserved for the human race. Perhaps that is because of sin. Before the fall, there were no tears.

We need to have our hearts melted and our souls strengthened, and somewhere in there are going to be tears when we really see ourselves as we are. A soft heart brings tears to our eyes. We weep for our own sins. We weep for others. We weep because we live in a fallen, sinful world, where sorrow and pain are all around us. Tears belong to this world, and when this life is over, God Himself will wipe our tears away, and there will never be any more reason for crying, weeping, or wailing.

In the meantime, God numbers our tears and keeps them in His bottle.

Question to ponder:
What is most frequently the cause of your tears?