Thursday thoughts: God can wipe away your tears

Jill Johnson

There will come a time when, as believers, we will cry no more. This is a promise that can give us hope and strength.”

Have you ever been through something so very painful? Maybe it was a death, divorce, sickness, or just heartache from a situation. I am pretty sure that all of us at some point in our life can say we have been there. It’s always hard when you see your family hurting, but one of the hardest things I have ever had to deal with was realizing our youngest daughter who is special needs required more help than we were able to give her.

It’s so very hard dealing with tough situations. I don’t know about you, but when things don’t make sense or are hard to understand, I can sometimes question, "Where are you God?" The answer I always come up with is He is right where he has always been – He is with me!

I was thinking this week about hard times as I have a few friends who are going through some hard situations. Here are some things I know about hard times as I have learned them first hand. 

1. Your heart will physically hurt like it’s breaking but God won’t let it. When we had to put our daughter into residential care my heart felt like it was breaking. I can remember the feeling as if it was yesterday. What I know is that in Psalm 34:18 it says “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; He rescues those whose spirits are crushed.” God was there to mend my heart and put what I thought were broken pieces of my heart back together again. I didn’t and couldn’t do that but I know God did.
2. There are times when you are hurting that you can’t even utter a prayer but God will provide others to pray for you. I can tell you that during the hard times when you are crushed it’s all you can do to put one foot in front of the other. The way you keep going is from the prayers of others who are lifting you up. I know this from experience both from someone lifting me up and also from God prompting me to pray for others. In Ephesians 6:18 the Bible says “At all times, pray by the power of the Spirit. Pray all kinds of prayers. Be watchful so that you can pray. Always keep on praying for all of God’s people.” God provided people to lift me and my family up in prayer when we were broken and hurting. God has also impressed upon me at times to diligently pray for others when I know, or even sometimes didn’t know, they are going through hard times. I can’t explain it, I didn’t and couldn’t do this on my own but I know God can.
3. God has paved the roads you walk on – easy and hard – and He won’t let you walk them alone. Sometimes we feel like we are alone or no one else understands what we are going through. It can be a scary and lonely road. However in the Bible in Deuteronomy 31:6 it says “Be strong and courageous. Do not fear nor be afraid for the Lord your God, He is the ONE who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.” You do not have to walk the road alone – God can and will walk with you.
4. It’s okay to cry… even if it’s a lot of crying. Believe me I have done my fair share of crying. In John 11:35 there are two small but powerful words “Jesus wept.” Jesus knew heartache because he cried. While we are crying, He is keeping track of our sorrows and our tears. I can’t carry all the sorrow and sadness but I know God can.

As I was writing this I was thinking about all the tears that we shed. We cry over our spouse, our children, our friends, sickness, hurts, fear and many many other reasons. But as I was thinking about all the things that cause me to cry I thought about Revelation 21:4. It says “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

There will come a time when, as believers, we will cry no more. This is a promise that can give us hope and strength. It will help us endure the hard painful times. It will allow us to pray and help others endure their hard painful times. This promise allows us to keep walking the road that God takes us on, whether easy or hard, painful or joyful. This promise gives us a glimpse of what God is preparing for us – no death, mourning, crying, or pain.

I have that hope and promise that God will wipe away every tear and exchange them for an eternity of joy because I am HIS child. Are you hurting? Are there painful things in your life that you are shedding tears over? There is One who can handle the hurt, give you peace through the pain, and track every tear you shed – God. Who are you walking with?

___

Jill Johnson, a staff member at the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, finds spiritual applications in her everyday experiences as a wife, mother, grandmother and Georgian. She is available to speak to your church's women's gatherings. Reach her at jjohnson@gabaptist.org.