Recorded Tears

For some of us, this Christmas season is anything but merry.  The bitter circumstances of life--the death of a loved one, a serious health problem, the loss of a job, the failure of a marriage, a child wandering away from the faith, and the list goes on--can and often do drive people to tears, and seasons of celebration seem to make the sorrow even deeper and the teardrops flow even more.

David was also going through a dark time when he wrote this psalm.  He had fled for his life from King Saul, and had been captured by the Philistines.  He cried out in fear and anguish, and he begged the Lord to save him and to scatter his enemies.  Despite his situation, David did not lose hope.  He still trusted in the Lord to save him; more importantly, he knew that the Lord understood the pain that he was going through ("list my tears on your scroll--are they not recorded in your record?").  

David's frankness in this psalm is striking.  He was speaking to God not in a way that many people woud consider "respectful"; instead, he spoke to God as a son would to his father.  He could speak to God in this manner because he trusted God, just as a son would trust his father.  In the same way, we too can cry out to our Father in heaven when the sorrows of this life overwhelm us and drive us to tears.  God understands the pain that we are going through, and he lists all of our tears on his scroll.  And one day--one glorious day--he will make all things new, and he will wipe away every tear from our eyes.