Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! – Psalm 126:5
Lysozyme is a protein present in your body that is important to your immune system, according to the National Institutes of Health. It helps to provide protection against bacteria, viruses, and fungi and is one of the most effective antibacterial and antiviral agents known. Your tears are filled with it! Without tears you could not see, you could not blink, and you would have continual infections in your eyes. The American Academy of Ophthalmology says your body makes 15 to 30 gallons of tears each year, less as you age.
Shedding tears is an essential part of grieving. Crying emotional tears is cleansing to the entire body. The Bible is filled with accounts of people who wept, including Jacob, Joseph, David, Elisha, Ezra, Nehemiah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Mary, Peter, Paul, John, and Jesus. Burdens carried on the inside often emerge as emotional tears. So valuable are your tears that the Lord keeps them in a bottle—perhaps to later remind you how He brought you through your pain.
Sorrows will come to each Christian. No one is immune. However, the way you choose to deal with your sorrow is crucial. Bring your grief to the Lord, and He will strengthen you with His joy (Nehemiah 8:10). Theologian J.I. Packer says, “Joy is a matter of choice. Joy is not an accident of temperament or an unpredictable providence.” John Calvin wrote, “There is nothing in afflictions which ought to disturb our joy.” Stand on the promises of God. Remember all He has done and is doing for you. Give Him the wilderness of your sadness and allow Him to turn your tears into living streams of water in your desert (Isaiah 43:19).
Today’s Verse: Psalm 126:5
Those who sow in tears
shall reap with shouts of joy!
All Scripture quotations and audio are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Recommended for further reading: Psalm 56:1-4, 8-13
Be gracious to me, O God, for man tramples on me;
all day long an attacker oppresses me;
2 my enemies trample on me all day long,
for many attack me proudly.
3 When I am afraid,
I put my trust in you.
4 In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
What can flesh do to me?
8 You have kept count of my tossings;
put my tears in your bottle.
Are they not in your book?
9 Then my enemies will turn back
in the day when I call.
This I know, that God is for me.
10 In God, whose word I praise,
in the Lord, whose word I praise,
11 in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
What can man do to me?
12 I must perform my vows to you, O God;
I will render thank offerings to you.
13 For you have delivered my soul from death,
yes, my feet from falling,
that I may walk before God
in the light of life.
All Scripture quotations and audio are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
