Isaiah 38:1-8: a reflection

1In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death. Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, came to him, and said to him, “The LORD says, ‘Set your house in order, for you will die, and not live.’” 2Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, 3and said, “Remember now, LORD, I beg you, how I have walked before you in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in your sight.” Then Hezekiah wept bitterly. 4Then the LORD’s word came to Isaiah, saying, 5“Go, and tell Hezekiah, ‘The LORD, the God of David your father, says, “I have heard your prayer. I have seen your tears. Behold, I will add fifteen years to your life. 6I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city. 7This shall be the sign to you from the LORD, that the LORD will do this thing that he has spoken. 8Behold, I will cause the shadow on the sundial, which has gone down on the sundial of Ahaz with the sun, to return backward ten steps.”’” So the sun returned ten steps on the sundial on which it had gone down.

King Hezekiah falls gravely ill, and the prophet Isaiah brings him a hard word: Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live. In response, Hezekiah turns his face to the wall and prays, pleading with God and weeping bitterly. And God answers with tenderness: Go and say to Hezekiah, I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears; behold, I will add fifteen years to your life. God heard the prayer, and, notably, God saw the tears, and moved in response.

Notice the tenderness in God's reply: I have seen your tears. God did not only hear Hezekiah's words; he saw his tears, took notice of his weeping, was moved by the grief behind the prayer. There is something deeply comforting in that phrase. God is not indifferent to our tears; he sees them, counts them, is moved by them. The psalmist speaks of God keeping our tears in a bottle; here God explicitly tells Hezekiah, I have seen your tears.

That is a comfort when we weep before God. Our tears are not unseen by him; he notices our weeping, is attentive to our grief, moved by the sorrow we pour out to him. When you pray through tears, when you weep before God in your distress, know that he sees them. I have seen your tears, he said to Hezekiah, and he sees yours. This does not mean he always answers as we ask, but it means our tears are never unnoticed by a God who is tender toward our grief. Bring your tears to him, and know that the God who saw Hezekiah's tears sees yours, and is moved by them.

Lord, when Hezekiah wept before you in his distress, you answered with tenderness: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Thank you that you are not indifferent to my tears, that you see them, notice my weeping, and are moved by the grief behind my prayers. When I pray through tears, when I weep before you in distress, remind me that my tears are never unseen by you. You keep them, you count them, you are tender toward my grief. This does not mean you always answer as I ask, but it means I am never weeping unnoticed before you. Help me bring my tears to you, and to trust that the God who saw Hezekiah's tears sees mine, and is moved by them. Thank you for so tender a God.