Tears In His Bottle
Writer Author Jerry Lee Kay Sr.
Christian Article
:
Love
- Fiction No
Psalms 84:..How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Jehovah of hosts! My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of Jehovah; My heart and my flesh cry out unto the living God. Yea, the sparrow hath found her a house, And the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, Even thine altars, O Jehovah of hosts, My King, and my God...Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: They will be still praising thee. Selah...Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; In whose heart are the highways to Zion...Passing through the valley of Weeping they make it a place of springs....Yea, the early rain covereth it with blessings...They go from strength to strength; Every one of them appeareth before God in Zion. O Jehovah God of hosts, hear my prayer; Give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah..Behold, O God our shield, And look upon the face of thine anointed....(ASV)
Psalms 80:5 Thou feedest them with the bread of tears;
and givest them tears to drink in great measure.
You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book? Psalm 56:8 (ESV)
While Shouting and skipping across mountaintops, living happy, safe, and free,
From Creator came Holy Spirit...to reveal perilous Journey's lying ahead for me,
He showed me wilderness, deserts, valleys and mountains as far as I could see,
I need you to pass through this land before you, to the next mountain said He.
I began my protest long and loud, it wan't an easy climb to this mountain peak
I don't want to leave..for I am happy here...living in this Holy mystique
these heights are refreshing to say the least, anything less is simply too bleak.
With soft gentle whisper and firm Holy hand He nudged me toward the descent
My son you have no choice, no need to lament, for you are anointed to be sent
As you make your pilgrimage, all your steps have been measured and weighed
I have work for you, regardless what you encounter, there's no need to be afraid.
So down to the Desert below, we began this journey, the Holy Spirit and me,
I called out to Him, this is not so bad, for through all this heat, I think I can see,
There is a valley on the distant horizon with a brook and a lovely Balsam Tree.
As I trod across the desert I'm beginning to thirst, My!..it's further than I thought,
the longer I walk it seems there is no end to this deep sand, what a melting pot,
my nerves are shot and how I thirst, O' how I thirst, I am really feeling distraught.
I cried how long must I be in this God forsaken place! and I began to weep
tears falling like rain, making puddles before vanishing into the sandy deep
All these thoughts keep playing with my mind, what have I done, for this to reap.
I am so weary, I lifted my hands in deep despair falling to the ground in a heap
Me-thinks I won't make it, my soul is screaming for relief, Yes, even eternal sleep
But the tears, the tears, just keep falling, and are now a steady flow,
I wonder where do they all go?...I really would love to know.
Tears have been my food day and night, and a voice is saying, Where's your God?
Where's all your armor, your shield, your helmet? Why, your feet are not even shod!
And your boasting of faith, your mighty God to save, maybe your really just a fraud!
I'm out here alone on mission for my Lord...who's that doing all the talking, mocking
and stalking, But deep inside there's a voice whispering, son, you just keep on walking
I don't want to walk, I want to skip and shout across mountain tops roaring like a lion,
After all I'm Christian, called out, I'm the elect, and best of all, I am marching to Zion.
At Last, came Mercy, bringing sleep and dreams in the spirit, easing my troubled mind,
O' my!..I hear such beautiful music, It's a water brook singing a song of heavenly kind
Do you hear her calling and singing her beautiful song?...Listen now!
Ho, every one that is thirsting!..Come ye to my clear waters, and drink without price.
let your soul delight in my refreshment, come and drink, your need I will suffice
The fees have been paid by those before you, they also, sent by the heavenly potter
come ye, get down on your knees, drink slow and long of this, my cool sweet water.
Come ye unto me: I offer everlasting covenant with you, in this your time of weeping
by witness of these tears you've shed, your soul will live, and others shall be reaping.
Do you feel the rhythm and the grace of her angelic song? It's full of His love and praise,
when we can't seem to find Him, or feel Him, and we think Him afar, and it's all in a haze
He is near, and He has a plan, it's for our good, even though we understand not His ways.
Lift up your eyes and look toward the hills from whence cometh your help, your salvation
He will send the comforter, sealing His love, His Holy Spirit is truly your confirmation.
Now when you come upon a babbling brook in a valley called Baca, often a Place of Weeping,
Although It is said to be the valley of sorrow, you know your joy and peace she is safekeeping.
Listen to the beautiful song she is singing, Wonder not at the tears you've shed,
for you see, He needs your tears for the brook in the valley, her waters must be fed.
Gentle early rain woke me from my sleep and I was in awe of things I saw and heard in my dream. And now this cooling gentle shower of blessing. Suddenly I understood...He also shall send early rains.
For the springs, the water brooks, the wells, are made from the tears of the many saints that came before us. Spirit spoke to my heart, Now you know where your tears went as they fell!
You see, as you shed your tears, they aren't just disappearing into the dry sand, they are forming underground rivers that flow to this place of need.
And even though one may be in the valley of Baca, 'the place of weeping'...and surely all must pass this way to the next mountain top...you can be sure your Heavenly Father sees each tear, they never go unnoticed.
As we Journey toward Zion, Marvel not at the tears you shed, for you see, He needs your tears for the brook in the valley. Her waters must be fed. And He will back it up with early rain showers. When you have cried your last tear and think all is lost, He will send showers of blessing for reinforcement.
Yes, there really is a River, and often times the flow is proceeding from somewhere you cannot see, but it is there, and it is from a fountainhead flowing ever so gentle, and steady. I know in my heart it is from tears of the saints that have passed this way before me....And I marvel at the mystery and wonder of it all...
How blessed is the man whose strength is in You, In whose heart are the highways to Zion! Passing through the valley of Baca they make it a spring; The early rain also covers it with blessings. They go from strength to strength, Every one of them appears before God in Zion. Psalm 84:5-7 (NASB)
"Who passing through the valley of Baca (Weeping) make it a spring."...Make it a spring...Make it a spring....That fascinates me!
That which seems an obstacle turns to a furtherance, a godly heart can make it a spring, out of which to draw forth water of comfort..either water to cleanse, and make it a way to repentance..or water to cool, and make it a way to patience..or water to moisten, and make it a way of growing in grace.
And if the spring happens to be low, and afford no water from below, then He will send the early rain to fill the pools and supply them with water from
above. If natural forces be not sufficient, there shall be supernatural graces added to assist them, and even though troubles of the world seem to rub and rub and rub them, the rubbing will only serve to rub them to the way of blessedness, yet in truth they are none, they hinder not them arriving at the
mark they aim at.....That's the description of Overcomer!
They hinder us not from approaching the presence of God....No, my soul, they are rather helps, for by this means we go from strength to strength, from strength of patience, to strength of hope...from strength of hope, to strength of faith, to strength of vision....and then will be accomplished that which this writer speaks of, our arrival at Zion....Blessed is the man whose strength is in God, and in whose heart are his highways.
The most gloomy present becomes bright to them..passing through even a terrible wilderness, they turn it into a place of springs, their joyous hope and the infinite beauty of the goal, which is worth any amount of toil and trouble, afford them enlivening comfort, refreshing, strengthening in the midst of the dry desert.
Not only does their faith bring forth water out of the sand and rocks of the desert, but God also on his part lovingly anticipates their love, and rewardingly anticipates their faithfulness...a gentle rain, like that which refreshes the sown fields in the autumn, descends from above and en-wraps the valley of Baca in a fullness of blessing... the place of weeping becomes dazzling and breathtaking with a flowery festive garment...not to outward appearance, but to them spiritually, in a manner none the less true and real.
And whereas under ordinary circumstances, to the man that has not reached the place of overcomer, the strength of the traveler diminishes in proportion as he is battered more and more of his toilsome road...with overcomers it is the very reverse; they go from strength to strength.
Be glad then, you children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord, your God; for He gives you the former or early rain in just measure and in righteousness, and He causes to come down for you the rain, the former rain and the latter rain, as before. Joel 2:23 (AMP)
When my first Grandson was born, I was home, and when they handed him to me for the first time, the emotion I felt was overwhelming, and I broke out into tears. As I held him in my arms, I walked outside, and where I lived, far out in the country, the stars of the heavens seemed to shine brighter than I could remember ever seeing before. So I lifted Zachary Alexander Kay to the heavens, presented and dedicated him to my Father. I prayed, "Father God If You will grant me one request, I ask you to give this baby, my grandson, the gift of 'Wonder' and make him to be an 'Overcomer'. Not beauty or riches or a long life... Simply an Overcomer with the gift of Wonder. Let him my Lord, be filled with a sense of awe and wonder of You...At night when the sun goes down, and the stars come out, and then in the morning when the sun comes up again. Let him always feel excitement to live in Your presence.
Father God, let him never get so used to sunrises and sunsets, mornings and evenings, the moon and the stars, music and art, friends and family, joy and sorrow, that he loses his sense of wonder. Let him never grow accustomed to the Wonders, and the flashes of Your brightness that surround us.
Let him always feel You, and the Wonder of Your love for him, even in times of great sorrow and sadness if he must pass through such places. Father as he begins his journey, sometimes he may need to cross the dry deserts of life and pass through rugged mountains and perilous places. Keep his attention focused on the narrow, steep, winding road, Lest he miss a turn somewhere and plunge over some awful precipice. Teach him Father to stop and take a look at the majestic mountains he is passing through and how unutterably thrilling is the panorama that will open up before him if he sees it through the eye of the Eagle.
Teach him O' God to breathe in the vastness and beauty of those mountains he must climb, even though there be much danger there. Teach him Holy Spirit to see the Wonder of what is all around him. Teach him to always take a long look at the larger scene, the wider scope, the greater sweep of all that is around him, to take in the grandeur, to feel the upward urge, the immensity of it all..to know that the God in whom we live is great, that love is boundless, that life has somewhere to go and Keep him full of the Wonder of it all."
Wow! Poppa you can remember all that?..The answer is no...I didn't know at the time my daughter in-law had a recorder going and taped it all..This morning she brought me the transcription of it after 20 years. But Poppa does remember the many tears I shed in prayer for my grandsons.You know, the ones that are now ministers of the gospel!
The phrase "appears before God in Zion" in verse 7 of psalm 84 suggests that this psalm was penned by a Jewish man who could not go to Jerusalem to celebrate one of their annual feasts. For forty years after their exodus from Egypt, the Jews were a wandering people, but even after they had moved into the Promised Land, the three feasts reminded them that they were still pilgrims on this earth, As are God's people today.
Remember this beloved, a vagabond has no home...a fugitive is running from home...a stranger is away from home...But a pilgrim is heading home. The writers inability to attend the feast did not rob him of the blessings of fellowship with the Lord. All who are true pilgrims can make the same three affirmations that he made...My Delight is in the Lord..My Strength is in the Lord..and My Trust is in the Lord.
In his opening statement, the writer said two things: "The temple is beautiful" and "The temple is beloved by all who love the Lord." It was the dwelling place of the Lord, His house, the place where His glory dwelt. Although God doesn't live today in man made buildings, we still show special reverence toward places dedicated to Him.
We can worship God anytime and anywhere, but special places are important for many of us. When I was a youngster my Father built an old brush arbor on the property and had regular outdoor meetings there. The old country church we called our home church, not very far from that old arbor, were super special places to me, and I many times would ride my horse or my bicycle down to the arbor or the church house and go inside just to sit for hours at a time. And let me tell you dear friend I felt God there. I marveled at the feelings that poured through my young Spirit, Soul and Body. And how I could hear in my mind the sermons and the pleas of those old time 'Sons of Thunder' as they poured out their hearts.
But the important thing is that we have a heart devoted to the Lord, a spiritual "appetite" that cries out for nourishing fellowship with the Lord. The psalmist cried out for God with his entire being. He envied the birds that were permitted to nest in the temple courts, near the altar, as well as the priests and Levites who lived and worked in the sacred precincts. How easy it is for us to take for granted the privilege of worshiping "the living God", a privilege purchased for us on the cross. That is what I call...Delighting in the Lord!
Even though this time he had to remain at home, the psalmist's heart was set on pilgrimage, and the very map to Jerusalem was written on his heart. His love for God and His house helped him make right decisions in life so that he did not go astray. A geographic site named "the Valley of Baca" is nowhere identified in Scripture. "Baca" is a Hebrew' word meaning "balsam tree," and the sap of this tree oozes like tears.
The "Valley of Baca" is a name for any difficult and painful place in life, where everything seems hopeless and you feel helpless, like "the pit of despair." The people who love God expect to pass through this valley and not remain there. They get a blessing from the experience, and they leave a blessing behind.
Like Abraham and Isaac, they "dig a well", and like Samuel and Elijah, they pray down the rain. It's wonderful to receive a blessing, but it's even greater to be a blessing and transform a desert into a garden. True pilgrims "go from strength to strength" and trust God to enable them to walk a step at a time and work a day at a time. They are people of prayer who keep in communion with the Lord, no matter what their circumstances may be. "Blessed are those whose strength is in you."..That's the description of an 'Overcomer'.
Poppa is baffled that A verse as short as John 11:35..."Jesus wept"...can take months to cover all contained there....One must have old time campmeeting time.
If Jesus is God (as he is) and if Jesus wept, then there must be a sense in which we can say that God the Father weeps too. We must be careful how we say this. Nevertheless, we must say that if Jesus weeps, then we should know that the God of the universe weeps in the sense that he cares about us, identifies with us, and shows us mercy. Jesus wept and thus revealed a God who enters into the anguish of his people and grieves with them in their afflictions.
God is the eternal one. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. In God there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning (James 1:17). We are told that Jesus wept on three separate occasions...at the grave of Lazarus...over Jerusalem...and in the Garden of Gethsemane...That shows me He is a God with feeling.
What, then, may we say about the tears of God? The answer is that we may say anything that is both suggested by the tears of Jesus and substantiated by other verses. Let me give a few thoughts on this.
First, we may say that God notices our tears. Nothing is more apparent than this in the story of Christ's weeping at the tomb of Lazarus, for the text tells us that Jesus wept when he saw the others weeping..."When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled" (v. 33). Jesus wept because he noticed their weeping. In the same way, many texts tell us that God the Father sees our tears. They tell us that he is not oblivious. They tell us that he takes notice of them.
One example of this is found in the story of God's dealings with aged King Hezekiah. Hezekiah was sick and about to die, and Isaiah was sent to tell him to put his house in order. Instead of doing this, Hezekiah began to weep. He cried to God, saying, "Remember, O Lord, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes" (2 Kings 20:3). The Bible says that he wept very much. What did God do? Surprisingly we read that God spoke to Isaiah at once and told him to return to Hezekiah with a new message. "Go back and tell Hezekiah, the leader of my people, 'This is what the Lord, the God of your father David says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you. ...I will add fifteen years to your life'" (vv. 5-6). As we read the story we may feel that the king's tears were unwise, for the fifteen years he lived after this were not good years. Nevertheless, the point of the story is that God heard him, as he also hears us. In the same way, Job declared: "He hears the cry of the needy" (Job 34:28). Likewise, David testified: "The Lord has heard my weeping" (Ps. 6:8).
Those verses also introduce us to a further thought, for they really mean, not only that God knows of our tears but also that he is touched by them. Jesus was touched by the tears of Mary and the others; it is because of this that he wept with them. In the same way, the Father is touched. It is this that we mean above all when we say that God weeps with his people.
Here again a number of Old Testament texts are helpful. Job said, in the verse that we have already quoted: "He hears the cry of the needy" (Job 34:28). David wrote: "He does not ignore the cry of the humble" (Ps. 9:12). He said again, "The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry" (Ps. 34:15). That tells me that God is genuinely touched by our sorrow. Did Jesus weep before his loving Father? Then so can we....Notice one thing more about our tears and the concern that both the Father and Son have for them. Do you see that God notices our tears and is touched by them? Notice also then, that God remembers our tears and that they are therefore precious to him.
In the Psalms there is a wonderful verse that expresses this truth in a metaphor.. it has given me the title of this offering. David is writing, telling on this occasion of the many griefs he has had as the result of the deeds of his enemies. They fight against him. They slander him, distorting his words. They hide themselves in order to fall upon him by surprise and destroy him. But, he cries out to God, "Put thou my tears into thy bottle. Are they not in thy book?" (Ps. 56:8 KJV). What is the bottle about which David speaks?... The Complete Jewish Bible quotes it a little differently. "You have kept count of my wanderings; store my tears in your water-skin — aren’t they already recorded in your book? Psalm 56:8 (CJB)
We know that the Romans frequently had little glass bottles called tear bottles, in which they collected their tears. But that is not what David is thinking here...The only bottles he knew were large leather bottles, the kind that Jesus later termed wineskins. He is saying that God possesses such a bottle into which he puts David's tears. It is not that David presents his tears to God, as though to prove something....
Rather, it is God who collects David's tears, and he does so in a bottle so large that he will lose none of them. In other words, God notices the tears of his people, is touched by them, and places them up in remembrance before him. If you are God's child, know that he treasures your tears and that he remembers them after you have long forgotten.
I wondered why my Heavenly Father would put my tears in a bottle, so I asked Holy Spirit...His answer should not have been a surprise to me. He said, Poppa He puts your tears in a bottle so that when your in a bind He can send those showers of blessing that you so love and need.
So when you come upon a babbling brook in a valley called Baca, often a Place of Weeping,
Although It is said to be a valley of sorrow, you know your joy and peace she is safekeeping.
Listen to the beautiful song she is singing, Wonder not at the tears you've shed,
for you see, He needs your tears for the brook in the valley, her waters must be fed.
"Passing through the valley of Weeping they make it a place of springs."
God Bless You
Poppa
From Dancing Through Dimensions © ...Jerry Lee Kay Sr
PoppaK.org
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