Message in a Bottle: Have you ever sent one?

You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.

—Psalm 56:8 NLT

Messages have been tossed into the sea since before the time of Christ, many to chart ocean currents but others as pleas for rescue or love. Recently, I read a fictitious seafaring message, a quote from the 1999 romance film, Message in a Bottle, based on Nicholas Sparks’ 1998 novel of the same name. It piqued my curiosity, so I did some research on the movie. I read the review by critic Robert Ebert, who describes the movie as “a film about a man and a woman who believe in great true love. The man believes it's behind him; the woman hopes it's ahead of her. One of their ideals in life is ‘to be somebody's true north.’” Ebert sums it up as a “tearjerker that strolls from crisis to crisis” (Ebert).

I pondered that last line. Don’t we all stroll through life from crisis to crisis, each troubling situation likely to bring forth a bout of tears? The death of a loved one, the heartbreak of love lost, the destruction of storms, the loss of a job, or the hopelessness of an incurable disease. All are situations that can bring us to our knees, crying out to God in desperation.

Author of half of the Bible’s psalms, King David was no stranger to crises. Time and time again he faced danger and upheaval, the fear of enemy attack, and the cords of death entangling him (Psalm 18:4). In his distress, he cried out to the Lord for help (Psalm 18:6a), and God was ever-present, faithful to deliver. David declares, “The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold” (Psalm 18:2).

“From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears” (Psalm 18:6b).

David assures us, “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry” (Psalm 34:15).

God hears our desperate cries and will attend to our needs. He will rescue, deliver, and heal. He will make a way where there seems to be no way (Isaiah 43:16-19) and work all things together for good (Romans 8:28). He will give us His peace (John 16:33).

God sees your tears. David describes with beautiful imagery, “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle” (Psalm 56:8 NLT).

Is there a message in the bottle?

I think the message in this image is that God cares. He cares about everything we go through, all the details. If He keeps track of the number of hairs on our head (Luke 12:7), He certainly keeps track of our sorrows. If He collects them, they are valuable. If He stores them, that means He has plans to use them later. I’ve heard it said, “God never wastes a hurt.” What we go through in life is not all for naught. God can and will use it.

Times of desperation are meant to draw us to God, to strengthen our faith, for we grow when we pray. Our tears are a form of prayer. Even if all we can do is utter, God, help me, He hears. If all we can do is groan, He knows our heart. And He wants us to know His. David is described as a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14). How do we become a person after God’s own heart? It has nothing to do with perfection, for David was far from that. But it has everything to do with messages. Seeking God with the same desperation of those who pitch into the sea penned messages that plead for rescue and love. It has to do with listening to His messages as well, applying His Word to our lives, repenting when we are wrong, turning according to His direction (Isaiah 30:21) and submitting to the power of His transformation. It means yielding to the Spirit when He wants to use us for His glory, to come alongside someone who is struggling with a situation we once endured, to comfort (2 Corinthians 1:4) and encourage them with a message of hope, to share our testimony to build them up (1 Thessalonians 5:11). It is remembering our tears and allowing God to use them, to pour from His bottle to irrigate the faith of others.

Being a person after God’s own heart is recognizing Him as your true north, your internal compass. It is sharing that message with others.

The movie quote that I referred to in my opening paragraph was a message that the character, Catherine, had placed in a bottle. This is what I read (not verified for correctness):

To all the ships at sea and all the ports of call. To my family and to all friends and strangers. This is a message and a prayer. The message is that my travels taught me a great truth. I already had what everyone is searching for and few ever find. The one person in the world who I was born to love forever. A person, like me, of the outer banks and the blue Atlantic mystery. A person rich in simple treasures. Self-made. Self-taught. A harbor where I am forever home. And no wind, or trouble or even a little death can knock down this house. The prayer is that everyone in the world can know this kind of love and be healed by it. If my prayer is heard, there will be an erasing of all guilt and all regrets and an end to all anger. Please, God. Amen.

Catherine describes the satisfaction of finding the longing of her soul, the person she was born to love forever, but much of what she writes can also be said about finding the longing of one’s spirit, the Person of Christ, who we were all born to love forever. So I rework her message and toss it out:

To all who are seeking. This is a message and a prayer. The message is that during my travels I found the great Truth. I found what everyone is searching for and few ever find. The one Person who I was born to love forever. Someone who knows me and loves me like no other. The revealer of mysteries (Daniel 2:28). A harbor where I am forever home. And no wind, or trouble or even a little death can knock down this house, for even when I die I will be eternally with Him (2 Corinthians 5:8). The prayer is that everyone in the world can know this kind of love and be healed by it. If my prayer is heard, there will be an erasing of all guilt and all regrets and an end to all anger. Please, God. Amen.

P.S. To have a visual reminder of God’s bottle of tears, I recently purchased an exquisite bottle, its color a beautiful blue to match the Atlantic mystery. Perhaps you too would do the same and add your messages to God.

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Ebert, Roger. “Message In A Bottle Movie Review (1999) | Roger Ebert.” RogerEbert.com, Denise Dinovi, 12 Feb. 1999, www.rogerebert.com/reviews/message-in-a-bottle-1999.