The Apostle John discovered that it is not always appropriate to weep, but King Solomon wrote: [There is] “A time to weep, And a time to laugh; A time to mourn, And a time to dance” (Ecclesiastes 3:4).
I love to laugh and wish I knew how to dance—I have two left feet, but I think I’m like most people in that I don’t hunger for more opportunities to weep. Yet they surely come, and when they do, they are often a blessing, in disguise for sure, but a blessing none-the-less..
The Scripture speaks of a blessed weeping. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:4).
Remember the tears of reconciliation Joseph shed when he embraced Benjamin and later his father. “Then he fell on his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. Moreover he kissed all his brothers and wept over them, and after that his brothers talked with him” (Genesis 45:14-15).
And then in the next chapter of Genesis the scripture says, “So Joseph made ready his chariot and went up to Goshen to meet his father Israel; and he presented himself to him, and fell on his neck and wept on his neck a good while” (Genesis 46:29). These were definitely times of blessed weeping.
Unfortunately, there are also those somber times that we weep.
David wept when Absalom died, “Then the king was deeply moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept. And as he went, he said thus: ‘O my son Absalom—my son, my son Absalom—if only I had died in your place! O Absalom my son, my son!’ ” (2 Samuel 18:33).
Weeping isn’t just appropriate when people die. Manly Esau wept when he lost his blessing. “Esau said to his father, ‘Have you only one blessing, my father? Bless me—me also, O my father!’ And Esau lifted up his voice and wept” (Genesis 27:38). Yes, real men do cry.
Peter wept when he came face to face with his own sinfulness: “Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, ‘Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.’ So he went out and wept bitterly” (Matthew 26:75).
Then there are the sweet tears of repentance. “Now, therefore,” says the LORD, “Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning” (Joel 2:12).
When is the last time your sinfulness broke your heart?
Some might weep when they get caught or when they get convicted, but that’s not what I’m talking about here. When is the last time you realized your sinfulness, and that realization was enough to break your heart to weep?
To Be Continued
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD 