Tears in a Bottle (Psalm 56)

While repeatedly reading Psalm 56, I always pause at the words of verse 8:

You have kept count of my tossings;
put my tears in your bottle.
Are they not in your book?

The beauty of this imagery is almost too much to comprehend.

God not only knows how many times I toss and turn when I wake in the wee hours of the night, but he also keeps track of them!

God will wipe away every tear one day, but he is aware of each tear shed now. My heart literally aches with emotion when I think of God collecting my tears and storing them in his own bottle.

If my tears can be contained in a bottle, their number is limited. My finite tears are kept by an infinite God.

My tears don't stream off the roof into a barrel; they don't pump into a bucket; they don't even pour into a basin; God collects them into a little bottle.

God knows each struggle of my life. He perceives every throb of pain. And the most amazing thing is that he keeps a record of it all!

God is the ultimate chronicler. He writes the number of my tossings and the number of my tears in his book.

Because God sees and numbers each tossing and every tear, in every circumstance I can say with the Psalmist (David, who had been seized by the Philistines):

When I am afraid,
I put my trust in you.
In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust;
I shall not be afraid.
What can flesh do to me? (verses 3 & 4)

That comforting refrain is repeated in verses 10 & 11:

In God, whose word I praise,
in the LORD, whose word I praise,
in God I trust;
I shall not be afraid.
What can man do to me?

Knowing God's love and care for him, I can conclude with David:

For you have delivered my soul from death,
yes, my feet from falling,
that I may walk before God
in the light of life (verse 13).

Because I have the guarantee of heavenly security, I can trust God to preserve me during earthly insecurities. God enables me to walk without stumbling. I walk coram deo (before the face of God). And God will enable me to live my life in God's light.