Podcast Transcript:
Today we’re talking about crying because I’ve been doing a lot of it lately. I’m Jean Wilund. But It’s All About Him! Welcome to a fun place to get serious about Bible study.
Crying isn’t fun, but sometimes it’s necessary. And I’ve been doing a lot of necessary crying this past week. Holy tears, really, over the death of a friend. Over the death of one of my dearest friend’s husband of 52 years.
But not all my tears have been of sorrow. I’ve shed many grateful tears as I’ve seen the faithful love God has poured out on my friend.
On today’s episode, I’m going to share a devotion titled “Cry” by Jeannie’s and my friend (and author), Lori Hatcher. It’s from her newest devotional—it came out today actually— called A Word For Your Day: 66 Devotions to Refresh Your Mind.
Dear Jeannie, if you’re listening, this devotion is for you. And it’s for all of you who are going through a painful time and need a word of encouragement—as you cry.
Cry
by Lori Hatcher
Our family experienced a trial years ago greater than anything we’d ever walked through.
As is often the case, the day before the storm dawned bright and clear. Life hummed along quietly.
Until that phone call. That awful phone call.
Someone we loved was in crisis, and the outcome would impact all of us. Fear and grief squeezed my heart. Lord, I’m so afraid for him. And for us.
The following morning, I stumbled out of bed, eyes almost swollen shut from the long night of crying.
I walked out of my bedroom and down the hall. Halfway there, muscle memory kicked in. I stepped into my study, settled into my chair, and reached for my journal and Bible.
For years I’d begun my day talking with God in prayer and reading the Bible. Today I had nothing to bring to the conversation. I sat empty before the Lord.
I opened my journal and picked up a pen. Every morning I listed three things I was thankful for. That day I struggled to find even one.
Instead, I journaled my prayers. Great, gushing laments expressed the heartbreak of my soul. “Father, what are we to do,” I wrote. “I’m grieving for him, and I’m grieving for our family. My heart is so sad.”
Jeremiah the prophet understood the pain of lament. He, too, penned long, anguished prayers. The bleeding of his broken heart splashed onto the pages of Scripture.
“[God] has besieged me and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship. He has made me dwell in darkness like those long dead. He has walled me in so I cannot escape; he has weighed me down with chains. Even when I call out or cry for help, he shuts out my prayer” (Lamentations 3:5–8).
In the season of Jeremiah’s distress, God seemed absent and uncaring. Or, worse yet, an enemy who tormented him with sorrow upon sorrow. Jeremiah knew, at any time, God could change the situation—but He didn’t. Life as Jeremiah knew it would soon end, and an uncertain future loomed ahead.
When sinking in a quicksand of trial, instead of crying out to God, many shut Him out. They turn their backs on meeting with His people and spending time in His Word. “If this is how God treats those who serve Him,” they say, “I want nothing to do with Him.”
When the path grew difficult for Jesus’s followers, many left. “‘You do not want to leave, too, do you?’ Jesus asked the Twelve.
“Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life'” (John 6:67–68).
Jeremiah knew God was his only hope. Instead of allowing his grief to cut him off from his greatest source of comfort, he lamented before the Lord. He unleashed the geyser of his grief, and God met Him there.
“I called on your name, Lord, from the depths of the pit. You heard my plea: ‘Do not close your ears to my cry for relief.’ You came near when I called you, and you said, ‘Do not fear'” (Lamentations 3:55–57).
I, too, reached out to God in my trial. I opened my Bible and found words of empathy and hope.
As I sat there, broken before Him, God wrapped His tender arms of love around me and spoke words of promise into my troubled soul. He spoke words of truth into my reeling mind. He spoke words of love into my sad heart. And He spoke words of courage into my trampled faith.
What comfort God’s Word contains. God saw my tears and my sorrow. He understood my grief. He had not abandoned me. He felt closer than ever before.
God did this for Jeremiah too. He righted his toppled faith and restored his hope and perspective. The tender recipient of God’s mercies, Jeremiah wrote:
“The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord…. For no one is cast off by the Lord forever. Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love. For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to anyone” (vv. 25–26, 31–33).
Jeremiah and I learned that God’s children don’t have to put on a brave face when we approach Him. We can come to Him in our grief, and He will meet us there.
God hears us when we cry.
Thank you for joining me today. If tears have been your constant companion lately, I pray these words by my friend Lori—and the prophet Jeremiah—will encourage you to run to our God. To wait in His presence and seek His face. God hears us when we cry.
Meet Lori Hatcher
Lori Hatcher is an author, blogger, pastor’s wife, and women’s ministry speaker. Her articles and devotions have appeared in numerous prints and online publications including Our Daily Bread, Guideposts, Revive Our Hearts, and Crosswalk.com. A contest-winning Toastmasters International speaker (ACG, ALB), Lori uses high-impact stories to impart transformational truth. Find out more about Lori and her well-loved 5-minute devotions at LoriHatcher.com.
Learn More About A Word For Your Day: 66 Devotions to Refresh Your Mind
Are you always on the go, but when it comes to faith, you still want to grow?
In 66 days, refresh your understanding of God’s message in Scripture with one word from each book of the Bible.
Fill your favorite travel cup with coffee and let Lori Hatcher, the best-selling author of Refresh Your Hope and Refresh Your Prayers, guide you through these 5-minute devotional readings.
You’ll grow in your faith and biblical knowledge as she provides a spiritually relevant word for you to ponder.
Starting with beginning in the book of Genesis and ending with new in Revelation, A Word for Your Day will help you stay in Scripture and bring daily reminders that the entire Bible is active, alive, and applicable today and every day. (Excerpted from Amazon)
