Tears

God's nature was first revealed to me when I read The Living Translation of Psalm 56:8 "You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book." A God who would keep track of every single tear is an infinitely compassionate God. He is a being who doesn't JUST care about what makes me sad, He KEEPS TRACK of it, He RECORDS it, He COLLECTS it. It became clear to me that God did, indeed, love me with an unfathomable love.

When I was first working out my faith, it only took one verse to get me going for weeks. Now, I happily look and find God's nature revealed to me within the entire Bible. He is always the same. He is ALWAYS there, not just in the Psalms (where there might be hundreds of references of tears and sorrow and crying that God has heard and vindicated).

In Ecclesiastes 12:14, it says, "For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil." EVERYTHING! Every tiny thing He looks at judges whether it is good or evil.

He wipes away our tears! In Isaiah 25:8, "...The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people's disgrace from all the earth."

His gentleness is evident in Isaiah 40:11, "He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young."

In Isaiah 41:10, He comforts. In 41:13, He holds our hand.

In Hosea 11:4, God talks about how much He loved His people Israel, even though they were disobedient. He says, "I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love. To them I was like one who lifts a little child to the cheek, and I bent down to feed them."

Joel 2:13: "Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity."

There are times when I cry from sorrow, and times when I cry from frustration. There are other times when I cry from sheer joy. I am confident in my God's understanding and gentleness with all of my crying. He holds me tight to his chest and carries me when I stop struggling and allow Him to. And I know that He will set me down and let me work out my faith, all the while standing near me as a gracious, compassionate father. How wonderfully blessed am I?