In our culture today, crying is often looked down upon. I've been thinking about this recently. Is this view biblical? Tearing up is considered a sign of weakness by many people, men in particular. Crying is viewed as too emotional, too feminine, and too vulnerable for most men. Men are supposed to be unfeeling and tough, right? Being "soft" has become a derogatory term for emotional actions. Men shouldn't be soft! This is the view of the world that we live in today, in America, at least. And it's in direct opposition with the Word of God.
"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh." Isaiah 36:26
So when we were first saved, we received the Holy Spirit. We also received a soft heart that allowed us to yield ourselves to Him! This is a wonderful thing! Lord, please keep our hearts soft. Lord, please save us from ourselves. Keep us focused on you, because you are our ONLY hope!
Back to the subject of crying. Speaking from my own personal experience, the closer I get to God, the more easily I cry. Nowadays, it only takes watching a nice movie for my eyes to tear up. And if I see people oppressed and stuck in their suffering, sometimes it's hard not to cry. I probably cry every day at this point in my walk with the Lord, especially in worship. Praise Jesus for keeping our hearts soft.
The reverse is also true. When I've become distracted off of thoughts of God and His Love, I don't cry very much at all. I don't have as much of a range of emotion. I become hard and unfeeling. People don't bring me great joy, nor do they bring me much sadness. I am too obsessed with myself to care much about others, and I don't even value my own life enough to be emotional about it.
So for me, I'm in a terrible place if I can't cry. If God is abiding in my heart and keeping it softened, I will cry to Him. I will shout to Him. I will sing to Him (where nobody can hear me, of course). And I will worship Him while going through the full range of human emotion. This is biblical--Jesus came to give us life to the fullest (John 10:10). The fullness of our emotions is seen when they are being used to glorify God.
"Jesus wept." John 11:35
This is biblical. This is God's perfect Way. Jesus was the perfect man, and He cried all the time. See, if we are filled with Love, anything that opposes Love will hurt us. It will cause us to feel sorrowful. It will often cause us to cry. If we are walking with God, full of the Spirit, we can live in His Love. We can be an empty vessel for His emotion. If we allow Him to keep our hearts soft, we will become moved with compassion just like Jesus was.
"And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick." Matthew 14:14
Compassion will lead us to be emotional. Compassion ought to move us to tears. Do you want people to know that you are constantly being filled with Love? Then act accordingly and yield yourself to God's emotions. Romans 12:15 tells us to weep with those who weep. The Holy Spirit wants to equip us with enough love for all those in need. And if you respond to one, just one, you will find God faithful to cause your Love to overflow to many others, as well. God's emotions may just require some crying to fully express! Let's be like our Savior and show our love through sorrow and tears.
"...Then the man of God began to weep" 2 Kings 8:11
"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh." Isaiah 36:26
So when we were first saved, we received the Holy Spirit. We also received a soft heart that allowed us to yield ourselves to Him! This is a wonderful thing! Lord, please keep our hearts soft. Lord, please save us from ourselves. Keep us focused on you, because you are our ONLY hope!
Back to the subject of crying. Speaking from my own personal experience, the closer I get to God, the more easily I cry. Nowadays, it only takes watching a nice movie for my eyes to tear up. And if I see people oppressed and stuck in their suffering, sometimes it's hard not to cry. I probably cry every day at this point in my walk with the Lord, especially in worship. Praise Jesus for keeping our hearts soft.
The reverse is also true. When I've become distracted off of thoughts of God and His Love, I don't cry very much at all. I don't have as much of a range of emotion. I become hard and unfeeling. People don't bring me great joy, nor do they bring me much sadness. I am too obsessed with myself to care much about others, and I don't even value my own life enough to be emotional about it.
So for me, I'm in a terrible place if I can't cry. If God is abiding in my heart and keeping it softened, I will cry to Him. I will shout to Him. I will sing to Him (where nobody can hear me, of course). And I will worship Him while going through the full range of human emotion. This is biblical--Jesus came to give us life to the fullest (John 10:10). The fullness of our emotions is seen when they are being used to glorify God.
"Jesus wept." John 11:35
This is biblical. This is God's perfect Way. Jesus was the perfect man, and He cried all the time. See, if we are filled with Love, anything that opposes Love will hurt us. It will cause us to feel sorrowful. It will often cause us to cry. If we are walking with God, full of the Spirit, we can live in His Love. We can be an empty vessel for His emotion. If we allow Him to keep our hearts soft, we will become moved with compassion just like Jesus was.
"And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick." Matthew 14:14
Compassion will lead us to be emotional. Compassion ought to move us to tears. Do you want people to know that you are constantly being filled with Love? Then act accordingly and yield yourself to God's emotions. Romans 12:15 tells us to weep with those who weep. The Holy Spirit wants to equip us with enough love for all those in need. And if you respond to one, just one, you will find God faithful to cause your Love to overflow to many others, as well. God's emotions may just require some crying to fully express! Let's be like our Savior and show our love through sorrow and tears.
"...Then the man of God began to weep" 2 Kings 8:11
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