by Jack Wroldsen | Jan 26, 2026 | Articles, Mentors Corner
The Bible frequently unites opposing concepts in counterintuitive ways. Want freedom? Be a slave. Want to live? Die. Want to be first? Be last. Want to be saved by grace? Work out your salvation with fear and trembling. Want rest? Take Christ’s yoke. How does this principle of opposites-in-unity apply to strength and weakness? I have been pondering this question because I cry easily, which sure feels like weakness. Sometimes I cry for serious things. Sometimes for seemingly trivial things. It’s awkward. It makes others (and me) uncomfortable. I’d prefer to feel strong. But weeping is also confusing because people say it’s a gift. After all, Jesus wept. Jeremiah was the weeping prophet. Life is hard. Pain is real. We are born crying. Weeping seems unavoidable. And certainly, God uses our pain and tears for our good, to break us and teach us compassion. In some sense, weeping is surely a good thing in our walk with Christ. Nonetheless, weeping is disruptive. It ends conversations. It prevents me from saying what I think I should say. Am I emotionally imbalanced? Yes, for sure. But what’s the solution? How does the Bible address the tension between the good and bad aspects of weeping? Psalm 119:28 says, “My soul weeps because of grief; strengthen me according to Your word.” The Psalmist appears to have felt his weeping as weakness because the antidote he sought was to be strengthened. In trying to understand what the Psalmist means, some familiar verses immediately come to mind: “I will rather boast in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me,” or,...
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