Christian Living

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WHEN GOD”S PEOPLE CRY

What makes you cry? Many of us cry when we are happy…”tears of joy”. When something bad happens, a lot of us cry. We cry whether we’re on one end of the emotional scale or the other…and many places in the middle! It is a known fact that women are more susceptible to tears than many men. Our emotions are “worn on our sleeve” a lot of the time…exposed, visible. A lot of us “cry over spilled milk”…or get upset over minute things that really don’t make any sense to be upset over. Why do we cry? It is a physical response to intense feelings…a way to deal with whatever made us cry to begin with. Don’t we usually feel better once we’ve had a good cry? If we think about it, didn’t it release a lot of tension? Crying is a healthy response to sudden change in emotion or a build up of feelings. It’s kind of like a pressure cooker. You know that little steam valve that rattles on the lid? If that weren't on there what would happen? Yep, it would explode. Being able to cry is our little steam valve. Built into our system…by God. It allows us to release our steam and not explode. He really knew what He was doing, didn’t He?!
The Bible mentions shedding tears in several places. What is the shortest Bible verse? You got it…John 11:35 Jesus wept. What made Jesus cry? Emotion…here was this perfect man with human emotion…sadness over the death of a loved one, Lazarus. See the verses right before that…verse 33 tells us Jesus was “deeply moved in spirit and troubled”. He had intense feelings just like we do when we are exposed to something such as death or illness. To know that He has felt these same feelings makes us able to go to Him and be assured that He understands why we feel the way we do.
Look at Luke Chapter 7. After leaving Capernaum Jesus went to a town called Nain. As he and his disciples entered the town gate a crowd of people were carrying out a coffin that contained the only son of a woman who was also a widow. I can visualize how upset this woman must have been when her son died, and when Jesus saw her grief “his heart went out to her and he said..don’t cry.” (verse 13) He went up to the coffin and touched it. Those who were carrying it stood still…then Jesus said “Young man, I say to you..get up!” (verse 14) The dead son sat up and began to talk and “Jesus gave him back to his mother” (verse 15). What compassion! There is no other devastation like that a mother feels at the loss of a child. For Jesus to have the compassion he did makes us know how much he must care for each of us. When he saw her crying he felt her grief…empathy…he hurt for her. And he did something about it. If only we would follow his example and be sensitive to others’ needs and feelings!
Let’s take a look at the crucifixion. How would you feel if someone you loved were being mocked, scorned, beaten, physically tortured…killed…right before your own eyes? What an emotionally disturbing situation it must have been for those who loved Jesus. In Luke Chapter 26 it describes those following Jesus as he walked to the place of his death. Verse 27 tells us, “A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him.” I see this statement as a picture of intensity…what they were feeling was not just a slight sadness, but a great tragedy unfolding before them. To wail is not just to shed a few tears, but to feel unbearable grief and anguish over what was taking place. As I’ve mentioned before, it is women who are more open in expressing their feelings and as stated here in the scripture it was ‘women who mourned and wailed’. Jesus, hearing their distress, turned to them and said,
“Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children.”
(Verse 28)
Take another look at Jesus’ crucifixion and those that felt grief at what the world was doing to their Lord. In John Chapter 20 we read about what took place after the crucifixion. On the third morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb where Jesus’ body lay…only to find the stone blocking its entrance had been rolled away! She found Peter and John and told them what she had found. They ran to the tomb, John reaching it before Peter.
All he saw was a pile of linen burial cloth…and he realized then that…Jesus had risen! (Verses 1-9)
The disciples went back home, but Mary Magdalene stayed outside the tomb, crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head, one at the foot. (Verses 10-12)
They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” She tells them, “They have taken my Lord, and I don’t know where he is.” At this time she turns around to see Jesus standing there, not realizing that it is Jesus. (Verses 11-14)
“Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” She tells him, and he speaks…”Mary….” Mary turns to see Jesus and cries out “Rabboni!” She sees her Lord!
What a testimony to her faithfulness and love for Jesus! What sadness she felt when she thought his body had been stolen! And what sudden relief and joy she experienced when he called her name to let her know he had risen!
Another passage comes to mind where strong emotions are shared, this time between two brothers in Christ. In 1 Samuel we read the story of David and his friendship with Jonathan, son of Saul who was king of Israel. David had been anointed to become king when God rejected Saul because of his disobedience.
This angered Saul and he wanted David killed. Jonathan, having differing opinions, was David’s closest friend. Jonathan made a covenant with David…a promise…a faithful friend…an expression of love…a pledge to remain loyal to one another. After David’s popularity and success in battle, Saul became extremely jealous and angry and continued his plight against David. In Chapter 19 Saul agrees not to have him killed after Jonathan reminded him of all David has done for him against the Philistines. Then one night, anger over David’s recent victory
compelled Saul to try to stab David with his spear. David dodged as Saul drove the spear into the wall. It was that night that David escaped, on the run again,
in effort to save his life. In Chapter 20 David sought out Jonathan, worried about being killed. Jonathan makes a plan for the following day…David is to hide in the fields behind a stone. Jonathan will arrive with a young boy to fetch his arrows. He would shoot three arrows toward the stone. If he tells the boy the arrows are on this side of the stone that means everything is safe and David and come out of hiding. If he tells the boy the arrows are further on and to run quickly that means it is not safe and David must flee. After confronting Saul that evening Jonathan knew David’s life was still in danger. Saul had even tried to spear his own son out of anger at their friendship! The next day Jonathan and the boy arrived in the fields where David hid and he gave the signal for David to run. Jonathan sent the boy back to town. In verse 41 it tells us, “David got up from the south side of the stone, and bowed before Jonathan three times, with his face to the ground. Then they kissed each other and wept together…but David wept the most."
Have you ever had a close bond with someone? Someone you knew you could trust and depend on? This is the kind of relationship David and Jonathan had.
Complete trust between each other. David knew he could count on Jonathan to keep him informed of Saul’s plan to kill him. At this moment in time David had to feel isolated, scared, and tired. We don’t know what it is like to be on the run for our life all the time. He had to miss his wife, his routine, his normalcy. When he left Jonathan at this time he didn’t know if he’d ever see him again. This man who he shared his heart and soul with…and a common bond, God’s will. God used Jonathan to help sustain David in his times of trial. Their friendship was a part of God’s plan, and as verse 42 says, “Go in peace, for we have sworn friendship with each other in the name of the Lord, saying, The Lord is witness between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants forever.” Why do you think David ‘wept the most’?
Let’s look further in the book of 1 Samuel. David and his men were marching with Achish, a Philistine he had entered into alliance. The Philistine rulers would not accept David and his men because of his prior connections with Saul. They were sent back to Ziklag after their 3-day journey. Picture this…when David and the men arrived back home, they found the town destroyed by fire. The Amalekites captured all their wives and children and had taken them away. Can you imagine the shock and disbelief, the worry over their loved ones? In Chapter 30, verse 4 it tells us how the men reacted to this…”David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep.” I can just imagine the agony these men endured upon their return home. The anger, the grief, the
loss. After they released their initial emotion and became exhausted they devised a plan of rescue. David and several hundred men left in search of this raiding party and their loved ones. David found the Amalekites and fought them for one whole day. He recovered everything and everyone that had been taken from them and returned them safely home.
Isn’t this the way it is with us now? We at times drain ourselves of all the hurt we feel through tears? Then we can pick ourselves up again and move ahead.
That need to cry cleanses us of whatever is racking our brain! When we deal with something such as grief, that need can come in waves. We build up and build up until we have another good cry, then we’re OK again. This continues on with more and more time between cries as we heal from the hurt we’re feeling.
Now let’s journey back to the Old Testament to Jeremiah Chapter 50. The Lord spoke through the prophet Jeremiah about the land of Babylon and its people. He told how Babylon would be captured, Bel put to shame, and Marduk filled with terror. Babyon would be attacked from the north and lay waste in the land so that no one will live in it..animals and man will flee away.
Verse 4 tells us “In those days, at that time, the people of Israel and the people of Judah together will go in tears to seek the Lord their God.”
Verse 5-6 says “They will ask the way to Zion and turn their faces toward it. They will come and bind themselves to the Lord in an everlasting covenant that will not be forgotten.” Sin would be the downfall of Babylon….its people would turn in tears to seek God.
What does this remind you of? Repentance. How often have we seen the Holy Spirit move in someone’s life and when they repent of sin they are moved to tears? Many times! Been there, done it! Haven’t you? When we first seek that relationship with Jesus, when we are called to make a choice…we are touched.
We are chosen…we are blessed…and humbled. When we latch onto His hand and bind ourselves with His love, we never want to let go! “Everlasting covenant..” We shed tears of joy that we are forgiven of our sins and are held in the arms of God for all eternity!
These are just a few examples of when God’s people cry. There are many more in the Bible for us to read about! I just thought it interesting to take a common occurrence for many of us at different points in our life and show how the Bible’s stories can relate to us. The emotion was the same, even though the situation was different.

So, the next time you feel a need for a good cry..go for it! Even Jesus cried...

Lucy

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