WEEPING: AN ACT OF FAITH- Open heavens devotional by Pastor E.A Adeboye

BIBLE IN A YEAR: Matt. 9-12
WEEPING: AN ACT OF FAITH Thursday, February 25, 2010
“But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him” (John 4:23) READ: John 11:34-35 John 11:35 makes a statement that raises a number of questions in the hearts of many. It says Jesus wept. You may want to ask: Can God weep? Why would the Almighty God weep? Some time ago, a governor wept. The captions that described that show of emotion in the press was about the ‘weeping governor’. But why would Jesus weep and do it openly? One thing we learn here, is that His divinity did not stop Him from expressing grief through tears. Many people think the more you are able to hold back tears, the more macho you are. You cannot be more man than Jesus! If Jesus could weep, why can’t you? Some Christians fight tears while deep in worship before God. But that’s the place to weep. When you weep while worshipping Him, that is an act of faith. It is your faith and focus on Him that took you to that level. When you weep like that, He dries up your tears. This is different from weeping as a result of a problem which is an act of unbelief and rather prevents God from intervening in the situation except for mercy. When you go into His presence, be focussed on Him and worship Him. Forget all your worries, sorrows and problems. Concentrate on Him and involve your spirit man. By the time you get to the point of weeping profusely, you will know that Heaven has recorded your worship and God is drying up your tears. If your worship is dry and flat, it is possible it never went beyond the ceiling in the first place. Intense worship often times provokes tears, expressing God’s awesomeness. But feigning tears while worshipping attracts no dividend. When you freely weep in His presence during worship, it brings a release. If there was an area of darkness surrounding you, you would observe that it has disappeared. Anytime you get to that point in worship, you can be sure that you were able to establish a contact with Heaven. When Heaven touches earth, there must be a sign. When you weep in faith, joy follows. If there was heaviness before entering His presence, it will be lifted. Weeping in faith has a way of refreshing you in God’s presence. It also renews your strength and gives you a take - away while leaving. However, to get there, you must make Him your focus, give Him your undivided attention, worship Him in spirit and release yourself to Him.  ACTION POINT: Weeping in unbelief robs you of what you have and leaves you hopeless, but weeping in faith adds to you and lift you up. One type of weeping is obviously better than the other.