Sometimes the Lord touches our hearts and evokes unexpected tears. Today was such a day for me. As I spent time with the Lord, I simply asked Him to “bless my desire to honor You as God today.” That is not a new desire for me but I don’t usually express it that way, and I was totally surprised when that simple prayer evoked such deep emotion within me.
Besides coming from places of pain and sorrow, tears come from a variety of other places within us. But I think some of the most powerful tears come from realizing what we have overcome, what the Lord has brought us through. They well up from recollections of the “many dangers, toils and snares” from which we’ve already come. They come from the perseverance we exhibited, without knowing how. As an old gospel song puts it, “My soul looks back in wonder how I got over!” How did I not just survive, but also emerge with a faith in Him that is more precious to me than anything I possess?
I realize now that my tears this morning came from the Lord graciously opening my eyes to see that much of what I have done, much of what I have endured and so much of what I regularly pray about comes from the desire to honor Him as God. As I was praying for the desire, He revealed how He has already been supplying it. And down came the tears.
Whatever their source, I believe all tears can be a blessing. They can move us to change. They can nurture humility within us. They can point us to God’s grace. They can soften the soil of our hearts to receive the reassurance of His love so we can move forward in hope. Or, as was the case for me today, they can be a response to His kind affirmation.
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