I’m writing this under conviction. It is as much to me as to you. The question, “Have we lost our tears?” impacts me personally as I look at my spiritual life and the things that concern me most.

A favorite Old Testament book of mine is Nehemiah. There is so much in the story of the cupbearer to the king who became God’s leader for his day. So, when my long-time friend, Dr. O. S. Hawkins came out with another one of his “Code” books (The James Code, The Daniel Code, The Jesus Code), I took note to see what God might have for me today. The new book is titled The Nehemiah Code: It’s Never Too Late for a New Beginning.

You remember Nehemiah’s story. The Israelites had been exiled. Only a remnant remained in Jerusalem, and the enemy took advantage of that, tearing down the walls of the city of David, making the people more vulnerable to attacks. Nehemiah was in exile, too, but his heart was with his people in Jerusalem. He sought out people who could tell him what was happening there. And what he learned impacted him greatly.

[blockquote author=”Nehemiah 1:4 NLT” link=”” target=”_blank”]When I heard this, I sat down and wept. In fact, for days I mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven.[/blockquote]

Dr. Hawkins lists several things of note that Nehemiah did upon learning this tragic news.

He made an honest evaluation of the situation.
He identified with the need of the people.
He mourned, fasted, and prayed.

And he did one more thing.

Nehemiah wept.

I grew up in an era when churches sometimes had all-night prayer meetings. They were marked by passionate prayer…and tears. I have read of more recent outbreaks of God’s spirit. They are characterised by fervent prayer, confession of sin…and weeping.

So, I have to ask myself as I ask you…where are the tears today? Where is the passion for the will of the Lord in our world, our culture, our lives, our family, ourselves? Where?

Most of us want to be seen as strong leaders. We want others to look to us to draw insight and wisdom. We want to be seen as a powerful person in the Lord’s army. Weeping seems weak. And as a leader, we don’t want to be weak.

What did the Apostle Paul say to the Corinthians?

[blockquote author=”2 Corinthians 11:30 NLT” link=”” target=”_blank”]If I must boast, I would rather boast about the things that show how weak I am.[/blockquote]

O. S. Hawkins says that Nehemiah recognized his inability to do anything on his own. Yet he was so overwhelmed by the need, he knew he must do something. In The Nehemiah Code, Hawkins says,

“The more I have studied the process of rebuilding, the more convinced I have become that one never rebuilds until he personally identifies with the need and weeps over the ruins. We live in a culture that seems to have lost its tears.

“Nehemiah did what all godly leaders must do: he drew strength from outside himself, from His Lord.”

Godly tears equal passion. And without passion for the things you see around you, you will most likely never see your goal accomplished.

As I understand it, the objective is not “tears.” The objective is such a deep passion for the Lord…His will and His ways…that we immerse ourselves completely in accomplishing the Lord’s plan…in His strength, even to the point of tears.