Topic: Let Your Tears Flow [Joyce Meyer Devotional 23 September 2020]
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As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.— Nehemiah 1:4 (ESV)
Nehemiah was not afraid of emotion, or reluctant to show it. Notice that he “wept and mourned.” Some of us flat-out refuse to show any of our emotions, which is not healthy. Pent‑up feelings are harmful if not dealt with, and need to be released in healthy ways. If we don’t release our emotions at appropriate times, as Nehemiah did when he heard the walls of Jerusalem had been destroyed, our emotions will eat away at us on the inside.
Stuffing or suppressing our feelings can also cause physical problems like trouble sleeping, or even digestive issues. Maybe you know someone who went to the doctor because they felt so bad and were convinced something was wrong with them, only to find out—after all kinds of medical tests—that the doctor found nothing and simply said their symptoms were related to stress or anxiety.
Our emotions will always manifest in some way, so it’s best to deal with them before they deal with us. God created us with tear glands and the ability to cry, which must mean there will be times in life when we, like Nehemiah, need to cry. In the Old Testament, Hannah wept and even stopped eating because she was brokenhearted over not having a child (see 1 Samuel 1:7). When David and the men with him discovered the Amalekites had burned the city of Ziklag and taken everyone in it (including their own wives and children) captive, they “raised their voices and wept until they had no more strength to weep” (1 Samuel 30:4). David also wept when his son became deathly ill (see 2 Samuel 12:21–22). Even Jesus wept over the death of His friend Lazarus (see John 11:35).
Tears are certainly part of the process of healing in our soul. God speaks through the prophet Jeremiah: “Pour out your heart like water before the presence of the LORD” (Lamentations 2:19). This proves to us that God wants us to bring our pain to Him. We can tell Him everything, holding nothing back. He knows it all anyway, but getting it out in the open is incredibly helpful to us.
Though it is important to express our deep feelings through tears at times, God didn’t create us to stay in a season of weeping forever. There is “a time to weep, and a time to laugh” (Ecclesiastes 3:4). God’s Word promises us that “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning” (Psalm 30:5 NKJV). Whatever you’re going through right now, ask God to help you deal with it in a healthy way. Cry when you need to, and know that this season of sadness will come to an end. As you walk with God, He will heal your heart and lead you into new seasons with joy.
Prayer Starter: Father, please help me express and deal with my emotions in a healthy way. If there’s anything I’ve been putting off dealing with, please show me and give me the strength to deal with it. Thank You for being there for me, for listening, and for healing me from the inside out. In Jesus’ Name, amen