Inspirational
Tears of Joy
“Why do I cry when I am happy?” Ching, a music teacher, asked the people in her Bible study group.
“Like when?” asked the group.
“Like when I am singing a joyful gospel song praising God. The words are all about His love for me, but why do my tears flow?”
Fans scream and cry when they see their idols; winners in any competition (from beauty pageants to sports) break down in tears. Intense happiness often results in crying, which normally reflects negative emotions.
But the opposite also happens. We’ve seen people laugh (nervous laughter it is called) when they face a difficult/frightening situation. Some smile in times of extreme sadness.
Ali, a psychologist, explained: “When you are overwhelmed with strong positive emotions, you cry because somewhere in your subconscious, you remember the difficulty in getting there. And, when you are overcome with extreme negative emotions, there is that inner desire to get over it—and so you smile.
These two phenomena may be explained further in Ezra 3:7-13, during the building of God’s Temple. After the foundation was completed, people shouted and sang God praises:
“But many of the older priests, Levites, and other leaders who had seen the first Temple wept aloud when they saw the new Temple’s foundation. The others, however, were shouting for joy. The joyful shouting and weeping mingled together in a loud noise that could be heard far in the distance.”
The older priests, although very happy, were crying because they remembered Solomon’s temple and its former glory.
When Ching (or any of us) sings of God’s wonders, she (we) must be remembering the grace out-poured on the cross—the extreme sacrifice Jesus did for her (us).
