[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”3.0.74″ custom_padding=”0px|||” custom_padding_tablet=”50px|0|50px|0″ transparent_background=”off” padding_mobile=”off”][et_pb_row padding_mobile=”off” column_padding_mobile=”on” _builder_version=”3.0.47″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Subheading – Be Assured that God Hears Your Tears” _builder_version=”3.12″ text_font=”Open Sans|on||on|” text_font_size=”20″ use_border_color=”off” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.ttc.edu.sg\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Lent2019-Be-Assured-that-God-Hears-Your-Tears.jpg” show_in_lightbox=”on” _builder_version=”3.12″ use_border_color=”off” \/][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row padding_mobile=”off” column_padding_mobile=”on” _builder_version=”3.0.47″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text ” _builder_version=”3.12″ text_font=”Georgia||||” use_border_color=”off” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n
I am wearied with my moaning;<\/strong> Scientists tell us that humans are the only species that produce tears when provoked by certain emotions. While we see tears as a sign of weakness, God sees them as a powerful prayer.<\/p>\n In Ps 6:6, the psalmist laments with tears, and the first thing that God hears in v. 8 is the sound of his weeping. After calling for help for ten lines in vv. 1 to 5, the psalmist has no words left to pray and cries not buckets, but a salty pool in which his bed \u201cswims\u201d and \u201cdissolves\u201d. This is what v. 6 says literally in Hebrew rather than the bland translation of \u201cI flood my bed\u201d and \u201cI drench my couch\u201d.<\/p>\n But no tear is wasted, for God hears. Verses 8-9 say, \u201cThe Lord has heard the sound of my weeping. The Lord has heard my supplication.\u201d This double emphasis on God having heard is followed by a double emphasis on the shaming of enemies in the final v.10. Tears are the turning point that brings God\u2019s action.<\/p>\n Ad Vingehoets, Why Only Humans Weep: Unravelling the Mysteries of Tears<\/em> (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013), says that tears are a social signal for help, especially during childhood when humans are at their most vulnerable. Crying needs a social context. He found that people report feeling better after crying at a movie with a friend, but when they watch a similar movie and cry on their own, they usually report no improvement in their mood.<\/p>\n This psalmist had no one to cry to in the desolate darkness of his bedroom, except for one person, the only one who counts anyway\u2014the one who hears and is moved by our every tear.<\/p>\n What or who are you frustrated with? The psalmist speaks of his enemies in vv8-10. Is there someone who hurt you, especially someone whom you trusted? Worse when it\u2019s one whom you thought should know better: a Christian, a colleague, a family member. Bring your tears of fear, anguish, or sorrow to God. Jesus wept, too, at Gethsemane. He understands; he hears.<\/p>\n Rev. Dr Maggie Low<\/strong><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Be Assured that God Hears Your Tears Psalm 6:6 I am wearied with my moaning; I cause to swim all night my bed; with my tears my couch I cause to dissolve. Scientists tell us that humans are the only species that produce tears when provoked by certain emotions. While we see tears as a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":34863,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34862","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lent2019","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nI cause to swim all night my bed; <\/strong>
\nwith my tears my couch I cause to dissolve.<\/strong><\/p>\n