Tears in a Bottle, Hope in Your Heart

Introduction

To appreciate the weight of Psalm 56, we must understand what David was going through when he wrote it. He wasn't sitting in the comfort of a palace. He was running for his life.

King Saul, consumed with jealousy and hatred, was determined to kill David. In search of safety, David fled to Gath and sought refuge with Achish, the Philistine king.

But the moment David arrived, Achish's servants recognized him. They said, "Isn't this David, the king of the land? Isn't this the one they sang about, saying, 'Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands'?"

In that instant, David realized he had escaped one danger only to find himself in another. His life was on the line once again. So, in an act of survival, David pretended to be insane. He scratched on the doors of the city gate and let saliva run down his beard, hoping to convince them that he posed no threat.

It is from the backdrop of fear, uncertainty, and desperation that David writes these remarkable words: "You have kept count of my wanderings; put my tears in Your bottle. Are they not in Your book?" David teaches us that even when life is uncertain and the future is unclear, God never loses sight of His children. Every step is known to Him, every tear is precious to Him, and every sorrow is remembered by Him.

Life will present lessons that demand a response. We can either learn from them today, or ignore them and be forced to learn them tomorrow. The lesson may be delayed, but it is rarely denied.

David says: Psalm 56:8

Psalm 56:8 KJV 1900

8 Thou tellest my wanderings: Put thou my tears into thy bottle: Are they not in thy book?

Thou tellest my wanderings

David is saying that God knows every one of my wanderings.

When I am in the right place, when I am in the wrong place. God knows.

Put my tears into a bottle

This morning we have different types of tears

Sorrow - I’m going to miss her presence

Joy - She does not have to suffer any more

Guilt - Did I do all I could do?

David says that God will take my tears and put them in a bottle.

It was custom of this day and time that they had tear bottles to collect tears

I am grateful today that only God has access to my bottle. (Because if you had the bottle you may empty it out, you may mix my tears up with someone who has different types of tears

Don’t miss this: Since God put the tears in the bottle, that means that He preserves my tears.

Are they not in your book?

David is not talking about the Book of Life here. He is speaking of God's record—a book in which every sorrow, every struggle, and every tear is remembered. You might call it, figuratively, the book of our sorrows.

In that book are the restless nights when sleep would not come.

In that book are the lonely moments after the family has gone home, when the phone stops ringing, the text messages become fewer, and life grows quiet.

In that book are the tears no one else saw and the burdens no one else knew you were carrying.

People often say, "Time heals all wounds." But time alone does not heal the ache of a grieving heart. Time may soften the pain, but it is God who heals the heart. The comfort of God accomplishes what the passing of time never can.

The good news is that God has not forgotten a single tear. Every tear has been counted, every sorrow has been recorded, and every prayer has been heard. The same God who keeps the record is also the God who brings comfort, strength, and hope.

And one day, just like Sis Joyce Keaton, God is going to combine all of our chapters in life since the day we were born, and all of those chapters will be placed in the Book of Life.

Will your name be in this Book?

Have you made preparation for your name to be written in this Book?

Our God is too just to make an error keeping your record.

If He will take your tears and preserve your tears in a bottle, what do you think He can do for you right now.