Who saves the tears that I shed? s30e144 Ps56c

The interior spiritual work of trusting God is for many, the hardest thing they will ever do. In fact, the struggle will be so difficult,  that tears will be shed over it. 

So what happens to those tears? Psalm 56 tells us.  You might not believe it is in the Bible. I certainly didn't. 

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Transcript

Who saves the tears that I shed? s30e144 Ps56c

If you go to ancient Corinth, about an hour outside of Athens you will find a museum there dedicated to the understanding of the ancient people there.  They had discovered some burial sites, which is a proven way to begin to understand the people when alive.

Anyway, they noticed that many of the people buried in the region were buried with these small, 1’’ or so glass jars.  Now this was a real find and demonstrated real importance, real value, because nobody within 1000s of miles could make such small delicate containers. 

So what would you put, in these most valuable jars, in a most valuable burial site.  Believe me, the scholars and the scientists desperately wanted to know. They began to study the now evaporated contents, and made a discovery: inside the bottles were TEARS. These are tears to be remembered. These are tears that were seen, that were valued beyond measure. They were collected to be remembered.

I thought this historically very interesting, and when I returned ffrom my trip I told that story to someone, and they immediately said, Yea, that is in the Bible.  We went back and forth, having a I don’t think so fight until we turned to our psalm today Psalm 56.

David is in real trouble. The Philistines and Saul both want to kill him. He’s afraid. And as he is afraid he is pledging His TRUST.  When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God I trust I shall not be afraid.

Listen to that. He is in a life or death; trust or not; fear or not watershed moment. It is as dire as it gets. And then we read this: 

v.8 You have kept count of my tossings; 

Put my tears in your bottle

Are they not in your book.

David has been crying out before the Lord. But David has done more than that. He’s been actually crying. But these tears have not gone unseen in this great battle for the trust of David.

We see this picture of the Lord, seeing the anguish of His servant, the anointed, but pursued unto death David.

David is crying before the Lord with his eyes, and crying out with the hard work of the soul.

But this process has not gone unnoticed by the Almighty.

The Lord is seeing the tears. Valuing the tears. Declaring them precious.

The Lord is seen here collecting those tears, so they do not go to waste

The Lord catches the tears, values them. Saves them as a testimony to the difficult spiritual work that is being done here:

David is wrestling with God unto maximal, tearful effort with his trust

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. 

11  in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. 

What can man do to me? 

What are David’s tears about? Legitimate fear of what Man can do to him. Will I trust in you in circumstances I do not prefer. Frankly, these circumstances look pretty bad.

What do I do with my real, legitimate, justified fear of man, medicaltroubles, relational breaches, and everything else that sends us scurrying in fear? When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.

I put my trust in you to the point of tears.

And then here we find the good Lord illustrating: Hey, struggling, suffering, fearful human:

I know you are dust Ps. 103:14 For He knows our frame. He remembers that we are dust.

I see your struggle. I know you have been thrashing about in the spiritual exertions of this melee.

I have kept count of your tossings in the middle of the night

I see your tears. I haven’t let your tears go to waste.

You work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Phil 2:12

You work. This is a great battle. The trust in the Lord is the greates of all interior brawls. It will be a no holds barred, kicking and wriggling,sacred free for all 

Watch me work: First I see. Second I am HERE. Third I am active in remembering and collecting everything that each one of those trusting tears

Hebrews 12:4

4 In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 

Struggle against unbelief. Against trust-lessnness

The One who shed HIS tears in the garden

The One who shed His blood in the scourges

The One who shed His life on the Cross

He is the one who collects the tears that we have shed in the conflict  for commiting to Him

Have you shed tears of trust.

Have you shed tears directionally toward Him? If we do

Jesus collects the tears of trust in the bottle of His remembering for all that cling to Him. 8       You have kept count of my tossings; 

put my tears in your bottle. 

Are they not in your book?