April 7, 2026
Jesus Doesn’t Judge Your Tears
BRITTANY LEE ALLEN
Lee en español
“Jesus wept.” John 11:35 (ESV)
For a while, I was scared to cry at church. When the worship song spoke so deeply into my struggle that salty tears threatened to gather on my lashes, I squeezed them away.
Don’t let them see you crying. What if they judge your tears too?
Here’s the thing — I’m a deep feeler, which means I’m also an easy crier. So this whole “holding it in” thing just wasn’t going to work. But these are the thoughts that run through the mind of a woman whose tears have been judged. A woman who endured immense grief by way of recurrent miscarriage and was told she cried too much.
Many of us have felt judged by others in our pain. Maybe in a vulnerable moment, someone diminished your grief with an “at least” statement. It might have been a lighthearted comment that didn’t land so lightly on your heart, like, “God needed another angel.” Maybe someone just quickly said, “Oh, don’t cry. Everything happens for a reason.” These reactions to our tears leave us feeling as though we must keep them hidden behind a faux shield of happiness.
But there is someone who doesn’t judge your tears.
When Jesus arrived at the tomb of His friend Lazarus, Scripture says He saw others weeping and was “deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled” (John 11:33, ESV). He was moved to tears: “Jesus wept” (John 11:35). Jesus cried with His people. He felt their pain with perfect, holy empathy. He knew that He was about to resurrect their loved one, yet He still took the time to grieve alongside the mourners who surrounded Him.
Jesus was likely also grieving much more than Lazarus. He was weeping over the way sin and death have broken His perfect world — the world He created. He grieves all the broken things on earth, all the broken things in your life. He grieves with you.
Though other people might expect us to face cancer, miscarriage, infertility, the betrayal of a spouse, the loss of a loved one, chronic illness, loneliness, poverty, or any other kind of suffering and shed only a few tears, Jesus doesn’t. He doesn’t look down on us and accuse us of not trusting Him when we weep over these things.
Jesus is gentle with us.
He is tender toward us.
He weeps with us.
When other people seem to judge your tears, remember this: If the Savior wept, then you are free to weep too.
Father, thank You for sending Jesus to walk the road of suffering before us, leaving us an example to follow and freeing us to cry out in our pain. I praise You that, as Psalm 56:8 says, “You have kept count of [our] tossings; put [our] tears in your bottle” (ESV). Thank You for never leaving us. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
OUR FAVORITE THINGS
Your faith was never meant to silence your grief. Free to Weep is a biblically grounded invitation to grieve honestly and rest in the presence of Christ. Comfort is not in answers that rush pain away but truth that stays with you in it. Get the book here.
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FOR DEEPER STUDY
Isaiah 53:4, “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows …” (ESV).
We often feel isolated in our suffering. How does it make you feel to know Jesus is acquainted with grief and carries your sorrows? How does His example fight the lie that we must hide our tears? Share with us in the comments!
© 2026 by Brittany Lee Allen. All rights reserved.
Proverbs 31 Ministries
P.O. Box 3189
Matthews, NC 28106
www.Proverbs31.org
