You number my wanderings; put my tears into Your bottle; are they not in Your book? (Psalm 56:8)

Tears In A Bottle

God created man with tear ducts before there was a need for tears. As the result of sin, grief, and sorrow darken the world with its infusion of grief over the loss of loved ones, sin, regret, and the trials of life. Part of the consequences of sin was the pain of childbirth placed upon the woman. Adam and Eve mourned the loss of their son Abel, who was killed by their firstborn son, Cain. Shedding tears are a part of the fabric of life that will never go away until the coming of the Lord. The psalms are filled with grief. Jeremiah is known as the weeping prophet and wrote a book about the sorrow of divine judgment. “Lamentations” is derived from the caption in the Latin version or Vulgate.

The Holy Spirit made a significant point to show the Son of God weeping at the tomb of Lazarus. Jesus had delayed his arrival at the home of Lazarus, arriving after Lazarus had died and was in the tomb for four days. The power of the resurrection was affirmed when Lazarus came out on the fourth day completely whole. Jesus knew He would raise Lazarus from the dead, and yet He still wept openly before a family He had drawn especially close to. Death is filled with sorrow and crying. The consequence of sin can bring tears to the eye. Jesus wept.

The psalmist David wrote about an experience when fleeing the wrath of King Saul when he sought refuge with Achish, the king of Gath, a Philistine city. David became fearful of Achish and escaped to the cave of Adullam. His fear was well-founded. The experience left David troubled, and he sought comfort from the Lord in his prayers and psalms. When he became afraid, David trusted in the Lord. He knew that God watched over him and protected him. David also described a beautiful relationship he shared with the Heavenly Father, that God would take his tears and place them in a bottle.

The joy of God’s comfort is knowing that the Father knows all the cares and worries of His children. When His children cry, the Lord God collects their tears in a bottle so they will not be forgotten. David had enemies all around him, from Saul and his army to the Philistines. He knew that his sorrow was heard in Heaven by the great Shepherd who would never forsake him or leave him. It was a joy to David to think of God taking his tears and keeping them in His divine care. The reassurance that God knows and cares about the sorrows of the heart is beautifully described as tears in a bottle.

David’s lament shows the power of God’s love to remember the suffering of His people. The suffering of Jesus is the divine story of love from a Father who knows the pain of His children. There is nothing that God cannot soothe and bring peace to in man’s experience. Grief is a natural part of life and serves a purpose. Often, the feelings of loneliness overwhelm the heart, burdened with sadness, but God knows and understands. When His children cry, He takes their tears and puts them in His bottle to remember and bestow blessings upon them. It is of great comfort to know that as God “looks into” the bottle of our hearts and sees our tears, He remembers our grief and knows our needs.

There are many ways the Holy Spirit describes eternal life. It is called a paradise, a place of immense beauty, everlasting life, and eternal joy. In the Revelation of John, one of the profound descriptions of eternal life is when God wipes away the tears from the eyes of the faithful. Death is destroyed. There will be no sorrow and no crying – and no more need for tear bottles. All of those bottles will be taken away. Until then, the faithful, like David, know that God numbers their wanderings, putting their tears into His bottle and writing their names in His book. Put your trust in God, and do not be afraid. Walk before God in the light of the living. Let God put your tears in His bottle.