Seek Him Through Tears

Ps Matt Rau - INChurch Sydney

What do we do when going deeper with God means hitting a wellspring of tears?

God is always willing to work on us at the deepest levels of our hearts. There are seasons when He wants to work on our deepest wounds even if it brings a season of sadness to the surface.

Psalm 126 taps into the bitter-sweet experiences of a human’s emotional life. There’s the sweetness in retracing events that sparked happiness… with the bitterness of life being nothing but sadness.

But just like sweet & sour sauce… this psalm contains nuggets of Spirit-infused truth we can choose to dip deeply into and experience the promise of a joyful harvest (yes, that was an intentional chicken nugget reference during a fast).

The psalm begins with an event so miraculous it sparked an outpouring of joy, laughter, and amazement (v. 1-3).

Picture yourself and those you love dearly being forcefully removed from the city where you feel safest. The disorientation would be intense.

But after many years of exile, special forces orchestrate the return of you and your family to your safe place. It’s an impossible thing for you to do even though you dreamt about it happening every night, and yet suddenly… it happens.

The return would become your definition of joy.

Every genuine follower of Jesus has a joyful memory like this. It’s the memory where you realised you no longer needed to walk on earth as an exile from God but your access to the safe place had been won for you by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and His resurrection from the dead (1 Cor 15:56-57).

Yet despite living back home in the safe place of Jerusalem, the psalmist isn’t currently feeling joy. His joy stopped flowing a while ago - like a stream no longer flowing in the desert (v. 4).

The only water source for his seeds is his tears (v. 5-6).

Here’s the Spirit-infused truth we need to grasp when going deeper with God to work on our grievances: our Saviour Jesus is familiar with grief. (Isa 53:3).

Jesus not only cried tears of grief but sweat drops of blood in the Garden (Luke 22:44). He was exiled when He was forsaken by His Father on the cross (Mark 15:33-34). Yet, for the joy of seeing His followers return from their sinful exile into God’s Kingdom, He endured every imaginable and unimaginable grief for us (Heb 12:2-3).

Psalm 126 is not teaching us to bottle up tears to save them for another day. It’s imploring us to remember the safe place to cry our tears is in His presence, hoping to experience His purpose for our tears: a harvest of joy (v. 5).

The more tears we plant, the more hope we can have in God to use our tears for a future and more profound experience of joy.

Reflect

Prayerfully reflect on the last time you shed a tear or felt a wave of sadness. Ask God to reveal the event connected to your grief. Plant any fears or tears exposed in God’s safe presence in the revelation of Jesus enduring the cross for you.

Prayer

Father, You are my safe place. Today I bring before You the things that grieve my heart. Use this grief and the tears I cry for Your glory. I remember the joy You had in grief and I want to experience joy like You did. Heal me and help me in all the ways You desire. I am open to You. Amen.