Encouragement for Today

December 26, 2024 Your Tears Aren’t Wasted … Especially When They’re Shared With Others LYSA TERKEURST Lee en español

“They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony …” Revelation 12:11 (NIV)

The worst kind of loneliness for me is being surrounded by people and yet still feeling utterly alone.

I can feel it at a restaurant full of noise, activity, and people talking loudly over one another. I can feel it in a mall bustling with crowds, overhead announcements and music. I can feel it even in my home, full of voices I know.

The world is spinning, people are connecting, music is playing, and there I am in the middle of it all — smiling on the outside but crying on the inside.

It’s like one of those Broadway-show moments when all the other actors are frozen in a moment of activity, but the spotlight gets thrown on the unsuspecting girl stage left. She sings a sorrowful solo about all that’s going on inside her world. And the brokenhearted ballad strikes a chord inside the part of us that feels so very alone as well. We swallow hard because it could easily be us singing that same song in the crowds of our lives.

Never have I understood this feeling more than when I’ve hit rough seasons in my life but didn’t know who to turn to for help. Because I wasn’t sure what to say or who was safe to talk to, I just walked through my days pretending to connect with others … but feeling so very isolated.

I’m astounded by the number of women who feel the same way. They’ve slipped me notes in person or through social media that admit how very alone they feel, often because of hurt they haven’t been able to talk about or process.

This is a huge tactic of the enemy, Satan. He can make us so consumed with hurt and so convinced it will never get better that we miss one of God’s greatest gifts: God made us to do life in a community of believers where we can stand on someone else’s faith when our own gets shaky. These are people who can help us see hope amid our hurts. Friends who pray more words over us than they speak to us. Fellow journeymen who can share their testimonies of heartbreak-turned-healing so we don’t get swallowed up by the pain of our similar circumstances.

We need each other.

God designed us to help each other.

Look at the first humans recorded in the Bible, Adam and Eve. Genesis 2:18 tells us, “The LORD God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him’” (NIV).

Throughout the Bible, we see our need for each other clearly communicated.

• “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, NIV).
• “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing” (1 Thessalonians 5:11, NIV).
• “They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony …” (Revelation 12:11).

Oh, how I love that last verse especially. God’s message of hell-defeating hope is often most powerfully preached from the lips of those whose pain He has turned into purpose to help others.

Who do you need to share your tears with? Who needs to know they aren’t alone?

I know how hard it is to open up about our deepest disappointments. I understand how terrifying vulnerability can be. But I also know there’s someone else in the world who would drown in their own tears if not for seeing yours. And when you make one other human simply see they aren’t alone, you make the world a better place.

Father God, I’m so grateful You don’t waste any of my tears. I want to take these lessons I’m learning in my brokenness and use them to help someone else feel less alone, less broken, less hopeless. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

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FOR DEEPER STUDY

2 Corinthians 1:3-4, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God” (NIV).

When has someone else’s honesty about their struggles helped you? Is there anyone God has been nudging you to bravely share your story with?

We’d love to hear from you! Share your thoughts in the comments.

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