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, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”
But what does that mean in a more tangible way? How do I apply it? Yes, God is our strength. Yes, we must rely on His power, not our own. But how? What does that look like in practice?
The most tangible answer God seems to have brought me to is the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12). And even though the Beatitudes do not mention strength explicitly, strength can be thought of as an overarching frame for the Beatitudes. That is, the Beatitudes can serve as a picture of what biblical strength looks like in practice.
Accordingly, I’ve begun saying to myself that one way to be “strengthened according to Your word” is to apply the eight paradoxes Jesus outlines in the Beatitudes.
- Be poor in spirit: do not think too highly of yourself. Be humble. What do you have that you have not received? Want strength? Be broken.
- Be mournful: “be miserable and mourn and weep,” James says. A command to weep! Thank God! That’s comforting when I can’t stop crying. “Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” Repent! Weeping is one step along the path towards biblical strength, but it’s not the end. Want strength? Weep … and keep going.
- Be meek: do not assert your own interests. God is in control, and He’s good at being in control. Relax. Do what’s in front of you. Lead a quiet life. Let God work. Want strength? Chill out.
- Be hungry and thirsty for righteousness: desire God. The world does not satisfy. Forsake it. Even the weeping prophet says, “Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart.” Amazing! Joy and delight for the one who weeps! Want strength? Long for God.
- Be merciful: treat others as you would like to be treated. God judges. The Holy Spirit convicts. Let go of being right, and of injustice and offense. Understand others. Forgive, if you want to be forgiven. Want strength? Practice mercy.
- Be pure in heart: a house divided against itself will not stand. Keep yourself unstained by the world. Will one thing. Want strength? Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.
- Be a peacemaker: “there is no peace for the wicked,” Isaiah says. But Christ is peace for the wicked who belong to Him. He is the bridge. We are sick and blind and wicked. Embrace evangelism and edification. Want strength? Love your neighbor as yourself.
- Be persecuted: do not be provoked. Do not be angry or stressed. Do not feel sorry for yourself. Do not take revenge. Love your enemies. Trust. Rest. Rejoice. Stephen was not weeping when stoned. Want strength? Lord, train me to be a martyr.
The perfect picture of biblical strength is the paradox of Christ on the cross: physically weak, but not weeping, just trusting, resting, surrendering, believing. Winning by losing. Temporal loss for eternal reward.
Patience in persecution is the pinnacle of the Beatitudes and the heart of biblical strength. Want strength according to God’s word? Live out the Beatitudes.
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