Why You Need To Learn To Cry Again?
The Need for Lament
I was walking to a meeting the other day and musing over a personal situation. I began to think about Jesus, emotional pain, and my various church traditions.
I thought about Jesus weeping, a phenomenal verse for many reasons. It is amazing that Jesus took time to feel, experience, and express emotional pain—his own pain as well as the pain of others.
Now, the context of this, of course, is the death of Lazarus, and if you know the story (John 11:1- 44), the fact that He cried is all the more amazing. Jesus deliberately waited until his friend died, knowing full well He had the power to raise Him from the dead.
Yet, Jesus possessing power did not short-circuit His feeling and processing pain. I’ve passed through several church traditions, the Pentecostal/Charismatic being one of them. This tradition greatly values power, and if Pentecostal believers were at the scene, it’s doubtful they would have processed pain. They would likely say, “Why are you crying…stand back and watch the power of our God – Lazarus, Come Forth!”
What is more, Jesus didn’t only have the power of God, but He also had the wisdom and perspective of God and believed in it. He told Mary that this was for the glory of God and the revelation of Him as Resurrection and Life. I have been a part of traditions where knowledge is the highest virtue. If someone from that tradition were on the scene, they might say, “Why are you crying? Don’t you know this, or don’t you believe that”? Yet, even though Jesus knew the right thing, believed God`s word on the matter and wanted others to know as well (John 11:25), He still took time to cry.
Jesus taught me to sit with pain longer than I am accustomed to and longer than my traditions had inadvertently taught me. Be patient with the pain of others; don’t rush them to power or knowledge immediately. I am guilty of this.
Don`t barrel and blast through my pain with charismatic zeal, nor should I shut up my emotions just because I believe what is true and written in scripture. Most believers will find themselves in one of these two camps: prioritising power or knowledge.
Lament. Sit with your pain. Sit with your pain in the presence of God, and then walk in His power and wisdom after you cry a bit.