"I really need to talk to you. A lot is happening right now and I need to talk to you." When I called I could hear the tears in her voice she was hurting and just needed someone to validate her pain. Don't we all?
That same morning I had read, "You Yourself have recorded my wanderings. Put my tears in Your bottle. Are they not in Your records?" (Psalm 56:8) I invited my friend to share with me the struggles she was having. I listened and affirmed her. I told her that her pain was real. I comforted her while she wept.
She told me that others had dismissed what she was going through. I shared with her what I have learned both in life and through the Scriptures, that every heart knows it's own sorrows. Surely if God keeps a record of the difficult times we have and puts our tears in a bottle shouldn't we respect the hurt that others suffer?
After her weeping had subsided I gently drew her back to the Psalm that promised that God had made note of her suffering. The next verse in the Psalm makes this declaration, "This I know: God is for me." (Psalm 56:9) I asked if she believed this. "Yes," said said. I believe that some truths are easier to see with tear washed eyes.
If I had been with her in person I would have taken her by the hand before sharing the next thing with her. "I want you to know that because God is for you you can rejoice in the Lord always." I explained that to rejoice in Greek means leaning towards. To rejoice in the Lord always means that no matter what difficulty we are facing that we are invited to delight in God's favor. We can be conscious he gracious care for us. After all even our tears our are kept in a bottle. And if God is for us who can be against us.
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