When Tears Appear, the Spirit is Near
Here’s a new one for you . . . when tears appear, the Spirit is near. Ok, it’s not in the Bible. My words, not His.
But it’s my experience. Let me explain. And don’t go ‘deep theology’ on me, at least not until you’ve heard me out.
There are two kinds of spirits people can have. The human spirit is built into us. We’re God’s highest and best creation. We’re made in His image. We see the human spirit exemplified in people like Elon Musk, an amazingly smart and creative human spirit, but without the Holy Spirit because of his faithlessness.
Believers in Christ not only have a human spirit but also have the Holy Spirit . . . the spirit of Jesus living in them. Just like Jesus was fully human and fully divine, our souls are the home for both our human spirit and His Holy Spirit. Our tears can be coming from either. When Jesus wept over the death of His friend Lazarus and the sadness of Mary and Martha, He “was deeply moved in spirit.” Only the Father knows if Jesus’ tears were from His human spirit, Divine Spirit or both.
When I feel tears welling up in me, I choose to believe they’re from the Holy Spirit. I know God wants my heart to be humble and kind, so it’s totally cool to cry and to let those be tears of gratitude. If they’re tears of sadness, I pray, “Thank you Lord for being here with me . . . for not letting me go through this alone. This is all going to be ok, if not now, someday.” When they’re tears of joy, it’s, “Thank you, Father, for the blessing of this moment. Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Either way, the kind, loving, ever-present Holy Spirit is near, pointing me to the Father through the tears.
Scripture: When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled . . . Jesus wept. (John 11:33, 35)
Responses (4)
Very interesting and “deep”. I heard you out and pondered the thoughts shared on this spirits insight. Thank you. Not to murky the waters, but do you have any thoughts on how to decipher what role his (and our) soul plays in all this? I’ve always thought of the soul as being where our emotions (as well as our mind and will) reside, which is different from our spirit. Scripture clearly says he was moved in his spirit, so maybe it’s not so important to try to distinguish body, soul, spirit since they all come together and work together in our humanity – for e.g., the tears themselves exude from our physical tear ducts (body) in response to what’s going on at the deeper levels (soul/spirit). Thoughts?
I think of my soul as my personality. The unique “me” God foreknew (if that’s a word). It’s the mashup of body, mind and spirit as you said. The spirit part has both human and Holy spirits at work in the Jesus-follower. The tears can be initiated by either. When we’re surrendered and paying attention, His Spirit speaks and leads. When we get busy and lose our way, our human spirit takes the wheel and ‘here we go’ . . . off the rails. But as with almost everything else, it’s the response that matters. God loves first, we respond. God moves, we join and/or obey. I’m trying to train myself (renew my mind) to go to Him whenever the tears well up. Lately, it’s been gratitude for all He’s done or sadness for Kingdom opportunities lost by myself and others. Hope that helps. Thanks for reading
Reading your comments on tears, reminded me of the moment I rededicated my life to Christ; I went to the altar with tears streaming down my face.
Since then I’ve known the presence of the Holy Spirit, unmistakably, through the flow of tears or a sense of His presence. Thank you for your sharing.
As I have gotten older I have become more emotional – tears come freely. Tears of joy, sorrow, anticipation…. I have not really understood why but as I think about it they do tend to have the impact of moving me more quickly to prayer and hope, to greater empathy for others. Thank you for your insight.