For most of my life, I underappreciated the psalms. They weren’t narrative. They weren’t letters. They were often-confusing poems with too much figurative language for my liking.
But the more time I spend reading, praying and singing the psalms (thanks to Shane & Shane), the more I see their beauty.
The psalms are glimpses at the raw emotions of God’s people — the fear, sadness, anger, confusion and joy that we are invited to lay at God’s feet.
God gave us our emotions. Jesus experienced all kinds of emotions. We don’t have to hide our feelings from God. The psalms demonstrate for us how we can express those emotions.
We all have days when we are carrying big feelings — frustration, anger, sadness, insecurity. Not only does God give us the psalms to show us how to bring those emotions to God, the psalms also give us God’s response.
Psalm 56:8 says, “You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book?”
All your sleepless nights? God sees. All the tears you’ve cried? God sees. God sees your broken heart, He sees your suffering, He sees your anxiety.
But God doesn’t just see. Even better, He cares. He “kept count” of David’s tossing and put David’s tears in His bottle. David’s fear, sadness and exhaustion as he fled from Saul are kept in God’s book.
The same is true for you. Those times your anxiety is so high you can’t sleep or can’t focus at work or school? God has kept count. Those tears you’ve cried over your job, your friends, your family or anything else under the sun? God has put them in His bottle.
God loves you and cares about you. That means He also cares about the things that cause you grief and heartbreak.
Even on your darkest night, God is there. He sees every tear that you cry and every tear that you don’t. He hears every beat of your anxious heart.
He already knows what you are feeling and He cares. So run to Him. Bring Him those big feelings, lay them down at His feet, and know He is a God of peace (John 16:33) and a God of comfort (2 Cor. 1:3–5).
