When Crying is a Privilege

If we could look at life honestly, without filtering real life through the lenses of what we wish were true (as opposed to what is true),  our lives would be more satisfying, our future less stressful, and our faith more stable.  There are a lot of areas in which we struggle with this tension - sex, money, popularity, comfort, relationships, emotions...  God made them all, of course.  He understands the world, and He understands us.  His Word is meant to help us view life as He sees it, not as we want it to be.
   More on our perspective on pain and grief from boundless.org (in an article entitled "Pain"):

He comes to share our burdens, and we say "Couldn't you just make us comfortable?" He offers the privilege of sharing His sufferings so that we may share His glory, and we say "You call that a privilege?" Yes, and when He promises that one day He will wipe every tear from our eyes, we say "We would rather not cry in the first place."

We want a God whose goodness is of some other kind than His holiness. And so when John Donne writes "Truly ... affliction is a treasure, and scarce any man hath enough of it," we gape as though Donne were a madman — and to the eyes of the world, I suppose he is.