God Remembers Every Tear You’ve Cried - iBelieve Truth: A Devotional for Women - November 4
“You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.” Psalm 56:8
Life has had many ups and downs. When I experience something disappointing or sad, I process my feelings with the Lord. But sometimes, when the trial becomes too much, I find it difficult to process my emotions with him. This happened to me when I learned that a loved one was not coming for the holidays. Additionally, I may not see him for quite some time. When I realized this reality, I got very sad. As I went through the learning process, I quickly realized that I was in the process of grieving. I was mourning the loss of how things used to be and my connection with that person. Once I was able to pinpoint the emotions underneath the sadness and loss that I was experiencing, I was able to process it better and come to a level of acceptance.
But sometimes it’s easier said than done. Depending on the nature of the offense, it may be challenging to get through the deep sadness and pain. As Christians, we don’t do grief well. We often want to sweep our deep emotions under the rug and pretend like they don’t exist. However, these feelings that are stuffed eventually arise at different times in our lives. We must express those emotions and use whatever positive outlet we can to manage them to be healthy, whole people living in Christ's promised freedom.
The above verse is a great encouragement for us. The psalmist David went through a great trial when he lost his own son. We see David process his emotions on the pages of the psalms. In this psalm, he’s reassuring readers that God knows every tear we’ve cried. He knows every pain we’ve ever experienced. God, who is the God of justice, knows when we’re innocent and when we’re guilty. When we’re innocent, he fights for us and ensures we receive the justice we deserve. Though we may never see justice for people who have wronged us in this life, we can hope that God keeps track of all our tears.
The above verse suggests that each tear is recorded in a book. He never forgets when we’ve cried or experienced difficult emotions, like pain or sadness. When we are with God in heaven, we won’t have any more pain. This verse reminds us that this life is temporary. God promises justice for every time we have been wronged, whether we see it on earth or not.
Although God may not have collected our tears in a bottle or kept track of our sorrows, God, who promises infinite compassion, does not forget. He chooses to remember the times when we have been broken-hearted. He comes in his goodness and gives us his comfort and peace. Additionally, only the spirit can comfort us with words of affirmation during difficult times.
Take a moment and think about the most recent profound loss you experienced. What emotions surrounded that event? Did you cry tears of sadness? Did you get angry and stuff all your feelings? Did you turn to someone with godly counsel who can help give you practical solutions and hope? God promises that we will always have trouble in this life, but he promises we will never be alone. When we experience pain or suffering, knowing that God will get us the justice we deserve is essential.
Buy a blank journal and make it your book where you record all your tears. Write down when you have felt sadness, grief, anger, or other negative emotions. Say each one aloud, one by one, and ask God to take the pain from you. Sometimes, all we need to rid ourselves of pain is to ask him. God’s will was never for us to experience pain or suffering in this life. However, because of the fall of man, recorded in Genesis, pain and sorrow are part of this life. But what we do with it matters. When we choose to give our emotions over to God, living in hope that he keeps track of all our sorrow, we can let go of our feelings and give them over to him, allowing him to be the scorekeeper of our sorrows.
Father, let us be people who positively experience grief and suffering. Let us release our emotions to you and any appropriate outlet. Once we have given way to all those emotions, help us let them go, knowing that you are the ultimate scorekeeper for our lives. Amen.
Photo credit: ©GettyImages/KatarzynaBialasiewicz
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If you've been feeling tired, overwhelmed, depleted, or just quietly wondering where God is in the middle of a very full life — this episode is for you. And honestly? It might be for me too, because I'm recording this in one of those seasons myself.
Today we're doing something a little different. Instead of going deep in a passage, we're talking about what to do when deep feels like too much — when you need less, not more. Specifically, I'm walking you through one of my favorite practices for weary seasons: handwriting scripture.
Not typing it. Not scrolling past it. Actually writing it out, slowly, in your own hand — because something happens in your brain when you do that. The words land differently. They go deeper. And over time, they become part of that personal library of God's voice that the Holy Spirit can pull from when you need it most. That's what Psalm 119:11 means when it says I have hidden your word in my heart — it's scripture moving into your long-term memory, where it lives and stays even when you haven't opened your Bible in weeks.
I'm sharing the five verses I wrote out for myself today — and why each one hit me fresh even though I've known some of them for years. This episode is part of our How to Study the Bible Podcast, a show that brings life back to reading the Bible and helps you understand even the hardest parts of Scripture. If this episode helps you know and love God more, be sure to follow the How to Study the Bible Podcast on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an episode!
