Lament (Part 2)

Have you ever read a psalm and thought, Wow, that person was really mad at God. Are you even allowed to say that to Him? The short answer: yes, and it’s called lament. In fact, about a third of the psalms in the Bible are lament psalms or complaint psalms. A lament is when you bring your honest, unfiltered frustrations, angers, griefs, and disappointments to God in prayer. It says, God, I’m not okay. This stinks. I hate it. I feel like You’ve forgotten me. Why did You let this happen?! That doesn’t sound encouraging, does it? But lament is so important that, throughout the Bible, the prophets, the leaders of Israel, and even Jesus Himself lamented. So if lament is so normal in the Bible, why don’t we see it as much now? As Christians, we avoid lament for two reasons. First, we sometimes falsely think lament comes from a lack of faith. But lament is as much an act of faith as gratitude is. It shows that (1) we trust God with our deepest, most uncomfortable feelings and (2) we trust Him to do something about those hurtsnow or when He returns (Revelation 21:1-5). Therefore, lament is a faithful response to the pain and brokenness sin causes in the world. The lament psalms of the Bible show us what this looks like. Almost all of these psalms end by praising God for how good and faithful He isbut not before the psalmists have expressed their hurts to God. Second, we avoid lament because, when something bad happens, we want to skip all of the terrible feelings and rush to the healing. My friends, that isn’t healthy. True healing happens only by walking through the pain and hurt, relying on Jesus as He walks through it with you. Jesus loves us unconditionally. He lived, died, and rose again here on earth He knows our pain. He even laments on our behalf (Hebrews 7:25). Therefore, we can bring our pain to Him because of what He has done, is doing, and will do for us (Hebrews 4:14-16). Lay your laments at His feet, as loudly as you need to. God is big. He can handle it. You can know, by the power of Jesus’ death and resurrection, suffering’s days are numbered (2 Peter 3:1-13). • Taylor Eising What pains in your life do you need to lament right now? You can lament something in your past or present, something happening to a loved one, or a general evil in the world (human trafficking, poverty, racism, etc.). Bring these hurts to God. If you’re not sure where to start, use a lament psalm as a blueprint for your prayer. Try Psalm 44, 55, 77, 79, 90, or 142. Do you have a tendency to rush through processing your pain with God? Why is that? Who is a trusted Christian in your life you can talk to about it? Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10 (CSB)

Read Verses:

Psalm 13; Luke 22:41-44