Tears and Waterfalls

I know, the subject of “Tears and Waterfalls” does not quite make complete sense. But read on because the revelation on how these two things connect is astounding! (At least to me!)

Our culture (and many others) often looks at tears as a sign of weakness or something to be ashamed of. However, God considers tears to be a very valuable thing. I have spent this entire year learning just how precious they are to my Father. He counts every single one.

There was a time in January that I cried many tears. They were tears of brokenness, of surrender, of prayers for others. The Lord showed me a powerful thing from Psalm 56, Psalm 126, and from an encounter with Him.

Psalm 56:8 says, “You number and record my wanderings; put my tears into Your bottle—are they not written in Your book?” God already knows every tear we cry or will cry. He catches every single one. (For those of you have read The Shack, Psalm 56:8 is the Biblical basis for the Holy Spirit catching the tears of the main character.)

The next verse of Psalm 56 is what amazes me (verse 9): “THEN shall my enemies turn back in the day that I cry out; this I know, for God is for me.”

In this passage, it is not until tears are shed that enemies are turned back. Sometimes, the enemy is circumstances. Sometimes enemies are real demons. Sometimes, as I am learning, the enemy is yourself.

The tears are not the point of weakness. Tears are weapons against all that is not right in the world. Tears are a sign that you are at the end of yourself and the beginning of God. There is nothing to be ashamed of when you cry. You have the opportunity to win in your weeping if you allow your Warrior God to winnow.

Psalm 126:5-6 says, “They who sow in tears shall reap in joy and singing. He who goes forth bearing seed and weeping shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.”

This verse says enough. There is another side to the tears. I know that many of you who read my blog and pray for me have wept over the news that I am not coming home in November.

Some of you wept with me before I left. Remember the promise of the Lord. Our tears are not wasted and we will have a day of rejoicing. I do not know yet when that will be, but we will have that day and God will have that day of rejoicing.

In January, when I was learning this, I had an encounter with God that has forever changed me. I was weeping over a situation, but knew that Daddy was catching every single one of my tears. Then, I had a picture come to mind of a mountain cliff with two waterfalls. The entire scene reminded me of the waterfalls I saw when I went to Iquazu, Argentina. Here is a picture from there. Just imagine a taller cliff with trees above it and more defined waterfalls. Other than that, the picture looked like this.

In the picture, though, I also saw the face of Jesus. The cliffs formed His features. The waterfalls were coming from His eyes. It was as if Jesus was showing me that when I cry, I am joining in with His tears. His tears were like rushing waterfalls that created a beautiful river where wildlife, and flora and fauna could thrive. The place of pain, of the waterfall of tears, is the place where life flows. The tears are healing and bring life to a place that would otherwise be just a stony cliff.

In the tears that are being shed over shedding my American lifestyle and more, I am partnering with Jesus to make stony cliffs into places of refreshment, healing, life, and growth. Without the tears, this life would not be possible.

James 1:2-4 “Consider it wholly joyfully, my brethren, whenever you are enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort or fall into various temptations. Be assured and understand that the trial and proving of your faith bring out endurance and steadfastness and patience. But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be perfectly and fully developed, lacking in nothing.”