Tears in a Bottle - Part 2

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” (Revelation 21:1-5 ESV). There are those times when I wish that I had much more room to write than this one page format. Today is one of those times. Yesterday, I talked about the compassion of God who “catches our tears in a bottle.” Underlying this topic is the possibility that you may come to believe that I view the trials and difficulties of life flippantly. Nothing could be further that that from the truth. There are times in our lives when we simply don’t believe we can go on. There are those who suffer physically in ways that most of us cannot imagine. There are those who are depressed. These people cannot merely “snap out of it” with easy answers and empty promises. However, God does understand your suffering. He sees your pain and wants to come alongside you to help you bear the load. He “catches your tears in a bottle”! God has been catching your tears, storing them up all your life, so that one day He can wipe your eyes dry of them forever! God cares that much! That’s the unalterable promise of God. That sounds like “pie-in-the-sky” preaching, doesn’t it? In a way, it is. The ultimate comfort for every child of God is to be home with him in heaven. And, though that doesn’t seem to give us any immediate relief from the pains we suffer today, it does give us the encouragement to go on. I have heard a lot of talk about the uncertainty of the future in the last few months. I suppose that’s just a normal part of national news. Of course, no one can accurately predict the future. However, this one thing I can say with absolute certainty: God loves you and has prepared a place for you that is beyond our imagination in its goodness. Someday’s glory does make it easier to bear today’s sorrow! Do you have any tears you need to shed? Go ahead let them flow. God is watching. He cares so much that He longs for the day when He can take them away! It’s His greatest desire for your life that you may be with Him forever; where there will be no more tears! Oh, dear fellow struggling Christian, hold on tight! Our God, our Redeemer lives! He sees our pain, and He is saving our tears for our future glory!