Many people, especially men, are reluctant to allow tears to flow when they feel grief, stress, anger, frustration, anxiety, worry, remorse, or suffer some sort of trauma, because they do not want to appear weak.
Some people were even taught as children that people do not like “cry babies.” Others are afraid that if they ever allow their soul to express its grief in tears, they will never be able to stop crying.
They have so much suffering stored up in their subconscious mind, that they feel that the floodgate holding back their tears is really strained at times. What they do not realize is that crying is one of the most healing processes in which human beings can participate.
Tears wash away our grief, release pent-up emotions, purge the result of harm done to our body and soul, etc. God gave us tears and cares about each one that we will ever shed (Psalm 56:8-9).
Scientist discovered that some tears are made from salt water, and actually fight toxic, disease-causing microorganisms in our body. Tears clear our eyes of irritants, serve as an anti-bacterial protection, decrease our heart rate, open our breathing passages, and calm our physical and emotional tension.
Therefore, never prevent yourself from indulging in a “good cry.” Tears are actually a sign of vulnerability, courage, power, reality, truth and sincerity. Crying allows the body to cleanse us from the negative forces within us, such as stress hormones, etc.
Weeping may endure for a short while, but joy always follows once we trust the issue to the Lord. Crying often changes our focus about the problem that caused our tears (Psalm 30:5). Some people even cry when they are happy, or worshipping the greatness of God, or experiencing some touching moment.
Prayer:
Father God, thank You for giving us the ability to cry. Teach us that, regardless of what was said to us when we were children, You gave us tears to lubricate and to protect our eyes, as well as to release favorable endorphins, which are our body’s resident pain killers. Teach us that it often requires inner strength, as well as attentiveness to our soul to allow our self to cry.
Remind us that tears speed up our recovery process after we experience a loss or abuse in our life, and they prevent overwhelming depression. Give us the courage to heal through tears. Help us to continue to serve and worship You through each moment of our life, especially during times of loss and grief. Meeting the needs of our body, soul and spirit, which You reveal to us through our negative emotions, will improve our outlook, behavior and the quality of our life.
Thought for the Day:
God cares about every tear that spills from our eyes, and He even keeps them in His bottle and records the reason for them in His book; when we cry out to Him, the people, addictions, and life’s circumstances that wound our soul are in His capable hands; we will lie down in peace and sleep even in our trials, because He causes us to abide in the safety of His presence within us.
- Psalm 4:8, 56:8-11
