God wept. Jesus wept. The shortest verse in the Bible, yet one of the most profound. The one who numbered the verses did so intentionally, recognizing the weight of Jesus' tears. He perceived the significance of a God who remains transcendent yet draws near. Jesus saw suffering; He still sees it today. He became poor—a carpenter acquainted with toil and hardship. He experienced anguish in the garden, sweating drops of blood. Jesus knows what it means to be human.

So who are you? Who is society to dictate that men must not cry, that women must suppress their emotions? Jesus wept, and it was this vulnerability that made Him strong. He overturned societal norms. Jesus did not come to conform but to transform. Indeed, He didn't abolish anything; He fulfilled everything. He realized every prophecy.

So when someone says people shouldn't cry—remember, God wept. It's acceptable to be weak, to express emotions. As David cried out, "Hear my plea, O Lord." He hears you because He identifies with you. Jesus desires your heart. Scripture tells us that God does not want burnt offerings or sacrifices for sin; the only offering He seeks is your heart. Come to Him as you are, broken and imperfect. Do not attempt to mend yourself—that is the work of Jesus. He brings salvation.

Do not bear that burden alone. You need not be perfect. True goodness comes only from the Lord. Who are you to impose such pressure on yourself? No one is perfect; no one can carry that weight. Jesus is the Word; Jesus is God. He can relate to you in myriad ways. It is astonishing when people say that God cannot comprehend our feelings, that we cannot commune with Him. Yet we can. He has given us the Holy Spirit.

It's permissible to be weak. Paul declares, "For when I am weak, then I am strong in Christ." The joy of the Lord is my strength (Nehemiah 8:10). Strength descends from above, not from within. Jesus wept. It is human to cry; it is acceptable.

I find myself weeping more often now. There are moments when I resist the tears, but when they flow, I release my burdens and surrender all to the Lord. That's why you feel calm after weeping—you have relinquished the pain, offered it up to the Lord. Do not heed society, for it is steeped in sin. Our norms shift, our culture changes, moving ever further from God.

Consider this: a new kind of violence sweeps our nation, our schools, our streets—a destruction of all that is rooted in the past. Our country is filled with voices shouting, "Away with the police," "Away with the churches," "Away with the teachers," "Away with the authorities." Can you build a society on such foundations? No, you cannot. It is time to transform our words, to invoke the word "up":

Up from all this filth, up from all this waste, up from this universal indifference, up to the hidden strongholds of eternity—up, up to God.

People assert that mental health issues, depression, and suicide are not real. But these struggles are real. Prophets endured them, and so did Jesus. He understands you. Come to Him. He can heal you, save your life, and grant you more than you deserve.

Let no one convince you that it is wrong to weep, to show emotion. The day you suppress your tears is the day you conceal your true self. Need help? That's acceptable. I needed help too. I needed a Savior. I tried to navigate my own path, and it led to destruction. Sin leads to death. So how do you escape your old life? How do you step out of your own way? It's challenging. I loved laziness, profanity, the sinful life—it was comfortable, yet it was destroying me.

So you ask, What can I do? Friends offer advice, but it lacks fulfillment. It may sustain you briefly, but it does not satisfy. For if you knew how quickly people forget you after you're gone, you might despair. You need someone greater than yourself—Jesus Christ. He can identify with you. He can calm your storms. He wept, so He knows pain. He lost a friend in Lazarus. He understands loss.

Our God is holy, perfect, yet He draws near to us sinners. Never forget that this is the God I serve, and He longs for your life. He wishes to hold you and care for you. It is acceptable to be weak, for in weakness you are strong with Christ.

God bless you all.