Psalms: Dealing with Difficult EmotionsSample

Dealing with Tears 

As followers of Christ, we should not be surprised by sorrow, failure, brokenness, and suffering. Tears and joy are both part of our Christian walk. The religious mentality views that God owes us a happy life because of our good behavior. We tend to ask questions like, why me? What wrong did I do to deserve this? What is wrong with me? A religious person gets mad and angry with God because of suffering. 

But a person who is transformed by the gospel understands that a life of faith has rejoicing and weeping, joy and tears. 

Our present tears remind us of what God has done in the past. We have experienced His deliverance, provision, grace, and kindness in times past, and we long for it in our present struggles. 

Our present tears also remind us of what is coming. We long for a time when there will be no more tears and sorrow. And we long for Jesus to return to make everything right. 

A deep understanding of the gospel makes us weep more for the injustice, pain, and sin around us and we cry out to God to restore our lives. 

As followers of Jesus, we not only weep more, but we weep differently than the world. We know our tears are not in vain. In verses 5–6, the Psalmist urges us to sow our tears in hope and expectation like a faithful farmer. The reason we sow our tears in the presence of God is because we know we will reap with joy. We know that sorrow lasts for the night, but joy comes in the morning. We understand that there is an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison awaiting those who persevere through their tears. 

Look at Jesus, who wept for Jerusalem. Look at Jesus, who had wept in the garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:39–46, Hebrews 5:7). Jesus was a man of sorrows. His tears produced our joy, His weakness produced our strength, and His humiliation produced our crown. He endured for the joy set before Him. As we follow Jesus, we experience the same tears and the same joy. 

Don’t waste your tears. Don’t weep like this world does. Bring your tears to God and sow in hope and faith like a faithful farmer. And when life brings us to tears, we don’t lose hope, we don’t give up hope, we don’t respond in anger, and we don’t wallow in self-pity or be low with disappointment. But the same sorrow produces new joy.