Permission to Cry

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A well-known Christian artist walked out into his own

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driveway and into every parent's worst nightmare. Stephen Curtis

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Chapman and his family lost their five-year-old daughter

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Maria in a tragic accident at home. A senseless accident and

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painfully public. The man whose songs have filled churches with

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hope now finds himself standing in an empty bedroom, then facing

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cameras and fans, and the quiet expectation that a strong

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Christian will hold it together. In a moment like that, why would

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he choose to step back, fall apart, and bring his honest

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tears to God instead of putting on a brave face for everyone

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watching?

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Welcome to Daily Devotions for Busy Lives. I'm Bart Leger, and

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today we're talking about something I believe many of us

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have been taught to hide, and that is, our tears. Psalm 34, 18

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says, The Lord is close to the brokenhearted. He rescues those

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whose spirits are crushed. There's something powerful in

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that verse. It doesn't say God is close to those who have it

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all together, and it doesn't say he rescues the ones who never

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fall apart. It says he draws near to the brokenhearted and

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crushed in spirit. Many of us grew up hearing, Be strong. And

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for us guys, boys don't cry. And there's a place for strength.

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But somewhere along the way, Be strong got twisted into, Don't

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feel, Don't cry, And don't let anyone see you struggle. We

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learned to put on a brave face, especially in Christian circles

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where we think faith means smiling through everything. But

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that's not what Scripture shows us. David, the man after God's

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own heart, wrote psalms full of tears, anger, and despair. He

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cried out, How long, O Lord, will you forget me forever?

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Jesus himself wept at the tomb of Lazarus, Even though he knew

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he was about to raise him from the dead. But the Bible doesn't

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hide grief. It honors it. When you're brokenhearted from loss,

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Maybe disappointment or betrayal, Maybe a dream that died, God

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doesn't stand at a distance with his arms crossed, Waiting for

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you to pull yourself together. What he does is he moves closer.

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He draws near to you. That's what Psalm 34, 18 promises.

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Bringing your tears to God isn't a sign that your faith is weak.

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What it is, is a sign that your faith is real. You're saying,

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Lord, I can't carry this. I'm not pretending anymore. I need

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you. And that kind of honesty opens the door for God to meet

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you in a way that pretending never could. Some of us are

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walking around with grief we've never fully processed. Maybe it

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was a loss years ago that you pushed down because you just had

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to keep going. Maybe it's a more recent wound, a diagnosis or

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divorce, or the death of someone you love. Maybe the end of

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something you hoped would last. And you've been holding it

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together because you thought that's what faith looks like.

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But what if faith actually looks like falling apart in the

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presence of the one who holds you together and giving yourself

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permission to do it? Let's get back to Stephen Curtis Chapman's

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story. Instead of skipping grief, he and his family walked

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straight into it, crying, questioning, and learning to

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meet God right in that grief of ache. When he eventually

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returned to music, it wasn't with neat answers. But with an

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album of lament, the song Beauty Will Rise was born out of that

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valley. He's been open that trusting God didn't mean the

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pain vanished. It meant collapsing into the arms of the

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one who is close to the brokenhearted and rescues those

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whose spirits are crushed. His willingness to grieve out loud

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gave countless others permission to cry also. And to see that

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bringing your tears to God isn't weakness, it's faith in the God

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who meets you there. Maybe today you need that same permission.

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Permission to cry. Permission to not have it all together.

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Permission to say, Lord, this hurts and I don't understand.

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God's not offended by your tears. He collects them. Psalm 56, 8

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says, He keeps track of all your sorrows and has collected all

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your tears in a bottle. That's how much He cares about your

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pain. So if you've been holding back, wondering if it's okay to

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grieve, wondering if you're allowed to feel, let this be

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your reminder. You have permission. God is close to the

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brokenhearted. He rescues those whose spirits are crushed. He's

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not waiting for you to be strong. He's waiting for you to be

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honest. Here's today's challenge. If there's grief or

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disappointment you've been carrying alone, take it to God

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today. Find a quiet place, even if it's just your car or your

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closet, and let yourself feel what you've been pushing down.

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Tell God exactly how you're hurting. You don't have to use

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fancy words. You can simply say something like, Lord, I'm broken.

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This hurts. Please draw near. if you need to, reach out to one

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safe person this week and let them know you're struggling. You

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weren't made to grieve alone. Lord, you know the tears we've

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been hiding and the grief we've been carrying. Thank you that

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you don't ask us to be strong on our own. And thank you for

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promising to draw near to the brokenhearted and to rescue

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those whose spirits are crushed. Today, we bring you our tears.

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Meet us in our pain and hold us close. And remind us that honest

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grief isn't weakness. It's the doorway to your comfort. In

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Jesus' name, amen. If this episode has encouraged you,

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would you share it with someone who might be grieving in silence?

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Just send them the link from the show notes. They may need

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permission to cry today. Thanks for joining me on Daily

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Devotions for Busy Lives. Remember, God draws near to the

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brokenhearted. Bringing Him your tears is an act of faith, not

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weakness. Come back next time for more encouragement to help

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you live grounded in God's truth. Until then, God bless and have a

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great day.