Crying is not a easy subject to talk about. Crying is so personal and intimate with the one you share tears. It’s vulnerable and scary. Rejection could be the result if done in the wrong place. Shedding a tear can be with a family member, a friend or with the Lord of host. But crying is soothing, therapeutic and good. Crying is a courageous act! I have found that God responds quicker to a need when one cries out to Him.
King David, in the old testament, was a man considered to be someone who pursued after the heart of God. He was a warrior man who shot straight with God and the book of Psalm is loaded with times where he cried out to The Father. We was no wimp but a warrior who was musically minded with great wisdom. He is a model of strength, courage and perseverance. We would be wise to take after David’s model.
You may have heard the phrase, “there is no crying in baseball” from the ‘92 Tom Hanks movie, “League of Their Own”. It could be true that there are better places to cry than on a baseball field. But letting emotions out is a good thing.
You may also have been taught, like me, not to cry. Can’t get further from the truth. God made us to shed tears and exceptionally with Him.
Many of you have been wounded in one way or another. Often are wounds become the things we struggle to overcome. We don’t connect our wounds to our struggles. Once the wounds are addressed the struggles are diminished.
For example, I was physically abused in a disciplinary act by my father as a 9 year old. I got creative with a cuss word saying, “sunny beach”. My dad heard me and flipped out. I’m glad my father had a high priority for not using cuss words but this incident was abusive. I ended up getting beat very hard for not what I did but for what I was thinking. That incident communicated to a 9 year old, “ I don’t care what you think, shut up”! It was not until I was 26 years old before I began to share things with my wife Janet. The incident kept me locked up to my emotions for years. Anxiety increased, panic attacks pursued me and I was a mess. Crying out to God made a difference. Effectually I was healed of that moment in time.
There are many good situations or reasons to let the emotions fly; grief over loss of loved one, wrestling with loss of relationship, abusive childhood or marriage, loss of job, never hearing a parent say, “I love you”, financial loss or bankruptcy, hearing you have cancer or that you are terminal ill, anger or lack of forgiveness. Much freedom is found in letting the tear ducts flow, especially with God.
The Bible says, the the heart is deceitfully wicked and hard to understand. One doesn’t need a loss to cry out to God for more. More freedom, more peace of mind as we journey with the heart for more love of God and others.
Hard to know love and it’s cleansing power without knowing Jesus, the author and perfector of everything, including healing a wounded heart.
Those of you who follow me know the issues with my dad which bordered on different forms of abuse. In January of this year my dad pasted away but not before having three really sweet days together; a time to say goodbye, a time to say, I love you and thank you, a time to stoke his head and arms while he lay struggling with life’s end, a time to encourage. Many tears had flown over the years while struggling to know his love for me. But forgiveness paved the way. It’s amazing the freedom that comes from forgiveness and it’s tears.
Crying is normal and natural way to relieve stress and anxiety. I run into problems when I don’t utilize it. If you haven’t tried it, you ought to give it a chance. Crying really does matter especially when crying out to God.