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Blinded by tears, I pulled into a lonely parking spot and gave way to despair. My beloved mother was not going to recover from her stroke. She could not walk or talk, and I couldn’t bear her suffering any longer. “Why, God?” I cried, bowing my head on the steering wheel. “Why does she have to go through this?”

Compounding my grief was a sense of failure. I was a missionary. Weren’t Christians like me supposed to display a victorious spirit, even in the direst circumstances? Great example you are, mocked the enemy of my soul, grieving like those who have no hope.

I searched for evidence that God truly understood my suffering. He led me to the many people in the Bible who had also shed bitter tears, such as Abraham, Joseph, and Job. Isaiah, Jeremiah, King David, Ezra, and Nehemiah also came to mind. So did Peter, Paul, Mary, and Jesus Christ Himself. That such strong individuals wept encouraged me to think they were examples of hearts leaning solely on God’s grace and mercy. 

Tear bottles or tear catchers in museums demonstrate that ancient Egyptians, Romans, and later Victorian people used such vials to collect their tears. Afterward, these vials were buried with loved ones to show the person’s devotion to them.

You yourself have kept track of my misery. Put my tears into your bottle— aren’t they on your scroll already? This verse in Psalms is especially poignant because it reassures that the Father is aware of His children’s tears, catches them, and keeps them in a bottle. He has written about them on a scroll. He remembers our grief and cares about us deeply.

The Bible warns us to expect times of mental, physical, emotional, or spiritual suffering in this world. But if we are God’s children, we should not grieve like those who have no hope.

Remember that God will one day personally wipe away all your tears. You will finally see what you could not see here. And then those troubles will fade to insignificance beside the joy that awaits.