[Verse 1]
The ones you cried 10 years ago when a good friend walked away
The ones you cried that late midnight when the break you bad news came
Even now they’re not forgotten God remembers them
The ones right now you're fighting, don’t hold them in
[Chorus]
There are seeds of joy tomorrow
That You’re watering today
There's a future and a purpose
For every single pain
Let the sadness, let your questions
Roll on down your face
They’ve got a place
So bring 'em here
God doesn’t waste your tears
[Verse 2]
This might be
Making your heart tender toward
Someone needing help
So you can share your story
Bringing life to someone else
Let this be your comfort
Let this be your hope
He's got plans to use the hurt
In ways that you don't know
[Chorus]
There are seeds of joy tomorrow
That you’re watering today
There's a future and a purpose
For every single pain
Let the sadness, let your questions
Roll on down your face
They’ve got a place
So bring 'em here
God doesn’t waste your tears
God doesn’t waste your tears
[Bridge]
He’s gonna use ‘em
Just believe it
He’s gonna use ‘em
He knows what they're needing
He’s gonna use ‘em
Just believe it
Just believe it
[Chorus]
There are seeds of joy tomorrow
That You’re watering today
There's a future and a purpose
For every single pain
Let the sadness, let your questions
Roll on down your face
They’ve got a place
So bring 'em here
God doesn’t waste your tears
God doesn’t waste your tears
God doesn’t waste your tears
God doesn’t waste your tears
Tears
Song Meaning
Cade Thompson opens "Tears" by reaching backward instead of staying in the present — "the ones you cried 10 years ago when a good friend walked away, the ones you cried that late midnight when the bad news came" — insisting that even forgotten grief is remembered by God: "even now they're not forgotten, God remembers them."
"There are seeds of joy tomorrow that You're watering today" reframes present pain as active cultivation rather than waste, and "there's a future and a purpose for every single pain" extends that claim to cover every kind of hurt named earlier, not just the specific memories listed. "Let the sadness, let your questions roll on down your face" gives permission to actually cry rather than suppress it, since "they've got a place" waiting for them.
The second verse turns the song outward — "this might be making your heart tender toward someone needing help, so you can share your story, bringing life to someone else" — proposing that private pain becomes another person's future comfort. The bridge's repeated "He's gonna use 'em, just believe it" closes on confidence rather than explanation, letting the chorus's final refrain, "God doesn't waste your tears," carry the weight built by everything before it.