Jump Start # 3475

Psalms 56:8 “You have taken account of my wanderings; put my tears in Your bottle. Are they not in Your book?”

The holidays are upon us. Last minute shopping and baking cookies are making households busy. Christmas shows are being watched. The Elf on the shelf has moved about the house each night. The children are excited and the parents are exhausted. For many, the next few days will be time away from work and hours spent with family making memories. We have made the rounds to three of the four sets of kids and grandchildren and one more still to come.

But in all of this exciting times, for others, this season is really hard. There is someone missing this year because of a death. The holidays are just not the same. For other families, there has been an emotional death. Strained relationships. Grown children who do not want to visit their parents. The tension is thick. It’s just not a happy time. And, all the images of family smiles and hugs only deepens the pain that some feel.

In our verse today, written by David when the Philistines captured him, reminds us of the sorrow and tears that some feel. For David, it wasn’t missing someone at Christmas, it was being God’s anointed yet having to flee for his life and hide among the enemy.

In a poetic fashion, David writes that God has put his tears in a bottle. Jim Croce sang about putting time in a bottle. Some have placed notes in a bottle and thrown the bottle into the sea. I have a bottle of coins sitting on my shelf. I’ve seen old marbles in a bottle. But for David, it was tears. It was his tears. It is as if God was saving those tears.

We understand literally this cannot be done. The tears would evaporate after time and God doesn’t have a real shelf of bottles up in Heaven. We know that, but the image is clear and helpful. Now, why would God put our tears in a bottle? Why would God save those tears? We tend to wipe the tears away. We want to move past the tears and find joy and laughter in our lives.

Here are just some ideas:

First, maybe God saves those tears to show us later on, that things weren’t as bad as we thought they were. Oh, at the time, those events brought tears to our eyes and sorrow to our hearts, but later on, we’ve realized that the situation wasn’t nearly as bad as we thought. Aside, from the big tragedies in our lives, such as the death of a close family member, most of us don’t remember the tears from a  couple of years ago, let alone, a decade ago. Life moves on. We’ve gotten through whatever crisis was before us.

Second, maybe those tears are reminders of how God helped us. As we cried, we prayed. As we shed those tears, hopeless and helpless, God somehow took care of us. He did that for David. The Philistines didn’t kill David. Fear and not knowing what the next turn will bring to us, makes us anxious, sad and a mess emotionally. But God strengthened us. Prayers were answered. Brethren helped us. Doors were opened. And, those many tears remind us that God never left us. God was there to help us. We have gotten through those tears because of the help of God.

Third, maybe those tears also remind us of God’s wonderful grace. Some tears are shed because of our mistakes and sins. We have let others down. We have hurt others. Guilt and shame came with those tears. But God wasn’t through with us. Family and brethren might have written us off, but God didn’t. His love and grace gave us more than another chance. Redeemed, God found a useful place for us in His kingdom. Those tears remind us of our great God who loves us so much.

The Revelation picture of Heaven is that God will wipe away every tear from our eyes. In Heaven there is no crying, mourning or pain. Tears in a bottle will remind us that Heaven is not earth and how thankful we are to be there.

For some, God may have several bottles of tears. That’s ok. The tears will end and the joy of being in His presence will make us realize that what happened before doesn’t matter any longer, nor do the problems and pain last .

Tears in a bottle. What a wonderful reminder for us. And, for those that are hurting his holiday season, your tears and your sorrow are not forgotten by the Lord. Tomorrow, we will add a few more thoughts to this line of thinking.

Roger

Jump Start # 1360

Psalms 56:8 “You have taken account of my wanderings; put my tears in Your bottle. Are they not in Your book?”

  I would like to share some personal insights with you about my weekend. It was a time of contrasts, tears and holding hands. It will fit well with our verse for today.

On Saturday, I was honored to conduct a wedding. It was outdoor, picture perfect weather, great crowd, and very beautiful wedding. As the bride was heading toward me, walking with her father, I looked over at the groom and he had tears rolling down his cheeks. It was so sweet. As the bride stood close, I saw that she too, had tears. They held hands. They said their “I Do’s”. They kissed. Those tears turned into beautiful smiles as they were congratulated by family and friends. What a great day that was!

The next day, Sunday, I preached the evening service. We have a member who was in the hospital and not doing very well. He was supposed to have been married the day before, as well. His first wife had passed away. He moved back here to where we are. He connected with the sweetest lady, whose husband had also passed away a while back. They had known each other for years. They would come into church holding hands. So sweet. I was to do that wedding on the same day as the other wedding. They changed plans and asked me to be the best man. What an honor. Two weddings on the same day. But last week he got ill. Then he tanked. Now he was in critical condition. I really didn’t want to go to the hospital on Sunday evening, because I was tired. I tried to talk myself into going the next day, but my conscience wouldn’t let me. I went. He was very, very bad. The family was there. There were many, many tears. A medical decision was made, and soon after that his heart stopped beating. He was gone. His beloved held his hand as his heart stopped. I still have tears as I write this. He was a good man. He was a man of God. This all happened so quickly.

Holding hands and tears. On Saturday it was the beginning of a new journey for a young couple who got married. On Sunday, it was the end of a journey for a soldier of Christ.

There are some important lessons through all of this.

A church family, like a physical family, often has different emotions and experiences at the same time. One family smiles because a daughter is married. One family cries because a dad passed away. This rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep are often not very far apart as I found out last weekend. The tears of joy and the tears of sorrow are both necessary. One is not more important than the other. It’s easy to make one emotion seem of lesser value than the other, but you can’t do that. Both are important. Both are part of life. A family, church or physical, must be there to encourage, support and help through all these emotions. This can be taxing because of the needs, prayers and expressions of love that need to be shared. This is why we must look beyond ourselves. This is why we must be servants of Christ. The drive home late Sunday night, I kept thinking I was so glad that I went to the hospital. Sometimes our hearts and our bodies tell us not today, we’ll serve tomorrow. Our heads know otherwise. Our heads realize that folks need us now.

Our passage tells us that God not only recognizes our tears but that He stores them in a bottle. Saved tears. There are a lot of things that people save. Some have become hoarders or pack rats because they save everything. Many people have a certain night stand drawer, or kitchen drawer, that is just stuffed with stuff. There are newspaper clippings, those funeral home cards we pick when we go to a funeral, rubber bands, paper clips, pencils, rulers, ribbons, thumb tacks and odds and ends that we just know someday we’ll need, if we can remember where we put it by then. I have a jar of coins that I empty my pockets into when I come home at the end of a day. I have in my garage a jar of nails, screws and metal thing-of-a-bob, that I just might need sometime. Some write a journal, detailing their travels, events and feelings on a daily basis. But of all these things, I have never seen a bottle of collected tears. First, they wouldn’t last. Tears evaporate. Second, why would we want to save them. Tears of happiness are one thing, but those sad tears. Tears when we have hurt someone or disappointed them. Tears that came because of sin. It’s hard to see someone cry and that not get to you. One of the first movies that ever made me really cry was “Brian’s Song.” There is a scene in which Chicago Bears running back, Gale Sayers tells the team about the coming death of his dear friend and fellow running back,  Brian Piccolo, and then the music plays. Then the tears flow. So sad. God has saved our tears in a bottle. God remembers. He remembers your hurts, your pains, your failures. Tears from injuries. Tears of sadness. Tears of joy. Tears of remorse. God has been there. You may have felt very alone, but you weren’t. He knows and He cares.

There is a line from the new Avenger movie, “A thing isn’t beautiful because it lasts. It is a privilege to be among them.” The value of life isn’t in how long it lasts, but in the difference it makes and how it touches our lives.

This day, you will run into people who are on top of the world. They are excited and things are going very well for them. A new house. A new baby. A new job. A new degree. A new car. Happy, smiling and hopeful. Rejoice with them. Thank the Lord for their blessings.

There will be others also who feel like the bottom has dropped out of their lives. A death and now a funeral. A marriage that is over and now a divorce. A friendship that is toxic and now must end. The sorrow of loss. The guilt of sin. The disastrous feeling of failure. Imagine what the prodigal felt when he first came to his senses. Sitting in the mud with pigs and dreaming of eating hard, dry pods, reality finally comes home to him. Look at himself. Look how low you’ve sunk. The sin of addiction, any addiction, will do that. The misery. The failure. The tears. Those tears that God has placed in a bottle. Those tears that lead to hope. Those tears that make us remember that God hasn’t given up. Those tears that remind us that God is looking for us, even today. Weep with those folks. Pray for those folks. Let them know that God hasn’t given up on them.

Tears and holding hands…the contrasts of life.

Roger

Jump Start # 632

Psalms 56:8 “Thou hast taken account of my wanderings; put my tears in Thy bottle; are they not in Thy book?”

The subtitle of this Psalm tells us that it was written by David when the Philistines seized him in Gath. David was being pursued by King Saul. He was running for his life. He thought he could cross the border into enemy territory and the chase would end. His thinking was that he could at least find some peace there. The problem is that Gath was the city of Goliath, the giant that David had killed. Others of Goliath’s family had been killed as well. The Philistines did not welcome David and he had to once again flee. He was being hunted. He was on the run.

The beginning of this chapter magnifies the intensity of what David was experiencing.

• Man has trampled upon me (1)
• Fighting all day long he oppresses me (1)
• For they are many who fight proudly against me (2)
• They attack, they lurk, they watch my steps (6)

David talks of fear. Our verse describes tears, “Put my tears in Thy bottle.”

My dad has been having some eye trouble recently. He went to the eye doctor and was told that there are three different kinds of tears. I didn’t know that. I haven’t given much thought about tears. I’ve seen women tear up at weddings. They are happy. I’ve seen tears at funerals. That’s hard to witness. I tend to think that women tear up more than men do, or at least they aren’t ashamed to admit it. The movie “Brian’s Song,” always got me. There is a scene where Gayle Sayers is in the Chicago Bears locker room and he tells his teammates about their fellow player, Brian Piccolo, who is dying of cancer. Sayers states, “I just love Brian Piccolo.” I’m bawling at that point!

David was aware that God knew of his troubles. God had witnesses his tears. Instead of saying dumb things such as “Man-up” or “big boys don’t cry,” God stored David’s tears in a bottle. He kept those tears. We keep things that are important to us. We keep ticket stubs when we were dating. We keep photos and souvenirs of trips we’ve taken. We keep the stick figured drawings that our children made when they were small. Henry Ford tried to capture the final breath of his idol, Thomas Edison. It sits in a glass test tube in a museum in Dearborn, MI. God was keeping David’s tears. They were important to God.

Remember, the Psalms are poetic. God doesn’t have real bottles in Heaven and how would David’s tears get from his cheeks to Heaven? This is a figure of speech to show the intimacy, closeness and compassion of God. Every tear is important to Him. The things that bother His children, bother Him. God understood. God cared.

Have you ever thought about how many times you have cried in your life? Seems to me that that older we get the less we laugh and the less we cry. Kids seem to be crying or laughing all the time. Maybe we could learn something from them. For many of us, our crying is limited to movies and funerals. Could it be that we ought to cry more? Could it be that things ought to bother us but they don’t? Have we just gotten use to wrong and it no longer causes us to shed any tears? Do prodigals no longer cause us to cry?

David wasn’t watching a movie, nor was he at a funeral. His life was upside down and the fear and stress caused him to cry. God noticed. God kept those tears in His bottle. David would get through those dark days. He did so with God’s help. When it seemed like the whole world had turned on him, God was still there. God was on his side. He was the anointed and God was not about to let him die. I’m not sure if David grasped all of that.

So, we must wonder, does God keep our tears in His bottle? Do we each have our own bottle? Again, don’t make these thoughts too literal, but in a sense He does. He knows. If He knows when a sparrow falls, He knows the tears upon your pillow. He is aware of what is hurting you. He longs for you to turn to Him. To find comfort in His word. To dedicate yourself to him. God allows the tears. Sometimes it’s the tears that bring us closer to Him. We like laughter, but tears are important.

There is a hymn that asks, “Does Jesus care…” The chorus answers that question. It says, “O yes, He cares, I know He cares, His heart is touch with my grief. When the days are weary, the long night dreary, I know my Savior cares.”

This is not the only time David cried. Multiple places in Psalms mentions the tears of a heart that is scared and afflicted. You are not alone with your tears. Health issues, the coming of death, prodigals in your family, a marriage that is anything but bliss, a church that is at war with itself are all genuine causes of tears. God knows. He’s got them all in His bottle. I tend to think that some have more tears in their bottles than others. Life can be like that.

Keep holding to God’s hand. He loves you and will not forsake you. He knows what you are going through. He has your tears in His bottle!

Roger