Today’s 333 Devotional: “Try Tears”

“When they raised their eyes from afar, and did not recognize him, they lifted their voices and wept; and each one tore his robe and sprinkled dust on his head toward heaven.” (Job 2:12)

Job lost everything. His sons and daughters lost their lives when a great windstorm collapsed the house they were in. Many of his servants were also killed, and all of his flocks, that is, all of his wealth were stolen. And to top it off, he was struck with a painful disease of boils covering his whole body causing him to become disfigured.

Job sat in sackcloth and ashes as a sign of mourning scraping his skin with a piece of broken pottery to pop the boils covering his body. When his friends saw him in this condition they wept bitterly and mourned, because Job was now unrecognizable to them.

When we see the condition of this world and its inhabitants, and how unrecognizable they are to what God created, and as the earth groans for its own redemption, along with humanity steeped in sin and rejection of God, we should be like Job and go into mourning, and then be like Job’s three friends and weep over what we see.

Rivers of water should be running down our faces over the sin of our day and the condition of this world and of people’s lives.

This was what happened with two struggling Salvation Army officers who felt as if nothing worked as they tried to get people to repent. William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army said, “Try tears.” And when they did revival broke out.

Churches are famous for programs. They try all sorts of gimmicks, but when confronted by the awfulness of this sin filled world, a world and a people we no longer recognize, gimmicks and programs won’t work. Instead let’s try Booth’s suggestion, let’s truly mourn and try tears.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4)