Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it,  Luke 19:41 (NKJV)

God’s tears are greater than our tears.  That thought has been on my mind a lot lately, especially today with the current turmoil surrounding Israel. In early 2020, just before our granddaughter was diagnosed with cancer and the world came down with covid, I shared an exalting devotion entitled “Greater Than.” We looked at how the Lord God is greater than all, not knowing the trials and tribulations that lay before us. Many of you went through sorrows in these recent years, too. Today I want to assure you that the Lord is still greater than all!

For I know that the Lord is great,
And our Lord is above all gods. Psalm 135:5 (NKJV)

Yes, He is still greater than all, specifically, His tears are greater than our tears. I wanted to weep about cancer and covid, about loved ones dying, about losing our home and belongings, about continuing to feel sick from mold, about wars and harm to children… Jesus cares about each one of these heartaches and has a plan to make each one right (Romans 8:28). But as He holds me in His everlasting arms (Deuteronomy 33:27), He shows me His tears are much greater than my tears.

 Oh, that my grief were fully weighed,
And my calamity laid with it on the scales!  Job 6:2 (NKJV) (God’s grief would weigh more!)

 I searched His word to find out if this is true. And sure enough, it is! Consider how the Lord God made this beautiful world in Genesis 1 and 2 of our Bibles.  In the very next chapter, Genesis 3, the people made in His image listened to the serpent and fell into sin. They were kicked out of the Garden of Eden and it was all downhill from there. Adam and Eve’s son Cain killed their other son Abel. The world became so evil that the Lord God told righteous Noah to build an ark to save his family. Finally, when the ark was completed, God sent the animals and closed the door, and His tears gushed and gushed from God’s eyes, as He watched His world, His beautiful world, be washed away; with only Noah and his family and animals safe in the ark.

And His tears poured down like the rain before the mowing.

And His tears washed all our sins away.

And His tears flowed out like a river of living water,

Flowing from the throne of God.

The Lord thought He would try again with Noah’s family.  But still, they devised to do evil.  Noah’s son Ham had a descendant named Nimrod who led people to build a tower to reach the heavens.  The Lord stopped the construction by scrambling all the languages.  Finally, the Lord found one person who was faithful to be His friend, a man named Abraham.  So, the Lord chose Abraham’s family to be His children.  But even this turned into heartbreak for our dear Lord.

You remember the amazing story of how the Lord rescued His children from Pharoah in Egypt, with ten plagues, a mighty hand and an outstretched arm?  The Lord was what our grandson would call a super hero, swooping in to rescue over two million people.  He continued to display His strength by parting the Red Sea and bringing water from the rock. But Abraham’s children had very short memories, grumbling, complaining and turning from God.

He chose Abraham’s children as the apple of His eye

And bore them up on eagle’s wings.

He brought them out of slavery.

He walked them through the sea.

And He gave Moses a song to sing.

Imagine, after going to such miraculous lengths to claim your bride, and she stands you up at the altar! Bible teacher Kenny Russell calls this “God’s first wedding.” When I thought about how the Lord must have felt, it brought tears to my eyes, too, and sorrow for all the times I’ve made Him sad.  (But that’s why He sent Jesus to forgive us and give the whole world the invitation to be His bride).

Let’s look at that first wedding.  As old-fashioned marriages often were, the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were promised to Father God in Genesis 12 and 15, long before they were born. Exodus 1–11 may be considered the courtship as the Lord God showed His strength to His people. Exodus 12–14 tells how He swept them off their feet, adorning them with fine jewelry. Exodus 15 was their love song, while Exodus 16–17 describes the “flowers and chocolates.” Finally, in Exodus 19–20, 23–24, we read the wedding vows, as God affirmed His covenant and Israel said, “I do” to the marriage proposal. Exodus 24:7 depicts the Bachelor party on the mountain. Then Moses went to the Courthouse at the top of the mountain to get the marriage certificate. In Exodus 26, the Groom prepared His house, giving instructions to Moses for the intricate design of the Tabernacle. Its courtyard would be for the continual remembrance of the Covenant. In Exodus 31, God gave Moses the official Wedding Covenant (10 Commandments). But in Exodus 32, the new bride couldn’t wait for her Husband, and played the harlot, building a golden calf.

But when Moses was on the mountain

Receiving God’s commands,

God’s children were down below

Building an idol in the sand.

“Get down and stop your people!”

the Lord cried out in pain,

And Moses ran as God’s tears began to rain.

“I was crushed by their adulterous heart,” the Lord described His pain years later in Ezekiel 6:9. See how the Lord is heartbroken when we go after idols instead of Him. It hurts Him so much. No wonder His tears flow down like rivers! Ezekiel 8 tells how grieved the Lord was over the abominations of the priests and elders. What they did in the dark was brought to light. We are all guilty of causing the Lord pain and tears. We must repent and turn to Jesus for forgiveness, remembering that judgment begins at the house of God (1 Peter 4:17). Dear one, Jesus willingly went to the cross for our sins, He shed tears and blood as He prayed for us in the Garden of Gethsemane, and He bore the pain of the stripes and the cross just to redeem us. Now that is love.

Jesus came to heal our broken hearts

And set the captives free.

He came to open our deaf ears

And cause the blind to see.

Jesus came to love us

And show us His Father’s plan.

And He came to die a sinner’s death

Though He was a sinless man.

One day I was driving home from one of my many doctor appointments.  (I’m like the lady from the gospels who has spent all her livelihood on physicians and been healed by none.)  I was so sad, feeling sick and unloved. There were some tall trees by a creek in a distant field. So, I began to sing,

If I could have tea with my very Best Friend,

I’d sit on the grass by that tree.

He’d tell me how He created this world,

And how He came to die for me.

As I approached our temporary home, drops of rain started to splatter my windshield and I continued to sing, “And His tears poured down like the rain before the mowing, and His tears washed all our sins away…”  And “My Tear Song” was born.  For weeks, months, and even a couple years, whenever driving alone or taking a shower, the Lord gave me another verse to this song. It is a love song. It is God’s story in the Bible. And it is a prayer and prophecy for a Living–Water–Holy–Spirit–Pour–Down–Revival across this land!  Next time I will share “My Tear Song”with you.  Because His tears are truly greater than all our tears.  Until then, God bless you, dear sister in Christ.

With His love,

Jennifer Grace

The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart,
And saves such as have a contrite spirit.  Psalm 34:18 (NKJV)

Today’s TEA CUPP: Joseph wept, too! As I read the story of Joseph in Genesis 37–40 again this year, it struck me how often Joseph wept. So, I prayed this prayer to the Lord:  “O Lord Jesus, I see You in Joseph’s story. You are the Good Shepherd of Your Father’s sheep. Your Father loves You. Your brothers hated You. Someday every knee will bow on heaven and earth to You. You reign and have dominion over all creation. Your Father sent You to help us. You came willingly. Your people conspired to kill You. They took Your robe. You were put in a tomb, but God raised You up. Blood was on Your coat. Your Father wept. And His tears poured down like the rain before the mowing. Abba Father/Dearest Lord Jesus, be glorified in Joseph’s story, in every rain storm, and in every tear cried today. Wash this world anew with your Living Water. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

They waited for me as for the rain,
And they opened their mouth wide as for the spring rain. Job 29:23 (NKJV)

You visit the earth and water it,
You greatly enrich it;
The river of God is full of water;
You provide their grain,
For so You have prepared it. Psalm 65:9 (NKJV)

 Oh, that my head were waters,
And my eyes a fountain of tears,
That I might weep day and night
For the slain of the daughter of my people! Jeremiah 9:1 (NKJV)

I will make them and the places all around My hill a blessing; and I will cause showers to come down in their season; there shall be showers of blessing.  Ezekiel 34:26 (NKJV)

 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” John 20:15 (NKJV)

For the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Revelation 7:17 (NKJV)

 And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. Revelation 22:1 (NKJV)

  (See also Numbers 14:1; 1Samuel 12:16–18; 2Samuel 23:4; 1Kings 8:36, 18:1, 18:41, 18:45; Job 5:10, 11:16, 28:26, 36:24–33; Psalm 1:3, 6:6, 8:1–5, 22:14, 27:4, 33:6, 65:9, 66:5–6, 68:8–9, 69:30, 77:16–20, 78:4, 98:1, 102:25, 119:136, 147:8; Proverbs 3:19–20, 14:27, 16:15; Ezekiel 20:6–8, 47; Hosea 10:12; Joel 2:23, 3:18; Zechariah 13:1; 14:8-9; Luke 7:38; John 4:10, 16:20, 16:22, 20:11; Ephesians 2:13; Titus 3:4-7; James 5:18; Revelation 14:7, 21:6)

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. 

For in the Wilderness of Zin, during the strife of the congregation, you rebelled against My command to hallow Me at the waters before their eyes.” (These are the waters of Meribah, at Kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin.) Numbers 27:14 (NKJV) Let’s remember to hallow the Lord Jesus as He pours down His Living Water!