It’s hard to make yourself cry, to produce tears. In movie-making, when the actress has to cry, I guess she has to think of something very sad to make herself cry, or they put drops of water in her eyes just before they start filming to make it look like she is crying.
When I first returned to the Lord, I found myself unemotional during the most holy portion of Sunday morning worship. I cried out to God, “Why can’t I cry? Why am I so hard-hearted? Please, God, return my tears. Help me feel your presence and be able to cry in your presence again like when I was young.” I wanted to cry but had no tears.
Physically speaking, tears are necessary for the health of your eyes. A medical condition called dry eye causes loss of tears, so that the eyes are painful and vision is often blurred. If your eyes don’t produce their own tears, you can use artificial tears. Or according to a commercial on TV, if you have been using artificial tears two or more times a day, you might be a good candidate for a prescription that enables your eyes to make their own tears.
During that time I just continued a lifestyle of Christian service—reading the Bible, attending church, and praying—but I was always dry-eyed. No tears. Oh, occasionally I might squeeze one or two drops out. I was crying on the inside, dry on the outside, but I never gave up.
Then one Sunday I suddenly realized that I was crying. Not only was my heart touched, but my physical body was responding too. And beginning that day the Bible began to open up to me. My spiritual vision cleared and I was able to see and understand things that had been a blur to me before.
“Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy. He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” Psalm 126: 5-6 NKJV
God used the natural tears to open my spiritual eyes.