The most wonderful promise for those who know the Savior is this: when the struggle’s over, God will draw us close. Abba will sooth us and He will dry our tears!  “I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” (Revelation 21:3-5, NIV)

Yes, on this broken planet, there are days when life hurts too deeply for words. If our aim is to avoid pain, we can amuse ourselves, we can medicate ourselves, we can become self-absorbed.  But, this is not the way of Christ. Our Lord’s heart was broken by the suffering of those with whom He walked. And, if we share His compassion, ours will be, too.  As we weep, we must pray for protection from bitterness that turns us into ugly, mean people. There is a difference between tears of bitterness and tears of brokenness.  Bitter people grow brittle and break!  Broken people open their heart to the restorative Presence of Jesus and find comfort which they, in turn, share with others. Gordon Jensen wrote a song with this memorable line, “God weeps along with man and takes him by the hand, tears are a language God understands.”