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Preface on Suffering-
I am not an expert on suffering. Although I have experienced many challenges in my short life, compared to many- my load has been light. But, as Elizabeth Elliot says, even if all I have done is observe suffering around me, “it would still be sufficient to tell me that we're up against a tremendous mystery.” We (Christians) serve an omniscient (all-knowing), omnipresent (everywhere), and omnipotent (all powerful) Creator of the universe. So we ask, “why?” Why all of this evil and suffering if He is truly All. I do not seek to minimize the heart-wrenching evil and pain in this world. Unless we are a relativist (individual truth) or in denial- even the atheist recognizes the deep brokenness and suffering that threatens like a prowling lion. Yet at the same time we will wrestle when the deepest things we learn at times can come from the darkest suffering. And some of our greatest gifts have also included some of our hardest trials. We can try to make sense of this tension- goodness and suffering. Many brilliant scholars have. (I have listed a few of their books below) But that is not my intention over this series. I am proceeding for the next few weeks assuming that I am speaking to believers with a biblical worldview. We suffer. God is good. Now what?
What is Lament?
Oxford dictionary: n-a passionate expression of grief or sorrow. v- mourn (usually a person's loss or death).
GotQuestions.org: To lament is to express deep regret, grief, or sorrow. We can lament through words or actions.
My Definition- Lament is a prayer of faith despite our pain and fear. It opens our eyes to the brokenness in the world around us awakens our souls from apathy. It is a prayer in pain that leads to trust.
What lament is NOT:
We do not wallow in our difficulties; we journey through the grief.
Philippians 2:14-15 “14 Do all things without grumbling (complaining) or disputing, 15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world” emphasis and addition mine
Dictionary: Complain- to express dissatisfaction or annoyance about something.
GotQuestions.org: The Greek word translated “complainer” means literally “one who is discontented with his lot in life.” It is akin to the word grumbler. Complaining is destructive and debilitating personally and only serves to make our witness to the world more difficult. In a lament, you’re talking to God, not about God—implying that you still trust God.
10 differences between Lament and Complaining:
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Lament: |
Complaint: |
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Expressed to God |
Expressed about God |
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Points to God/ testimony |
Hurts our witness |
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Demonstrates faith in God’s goodness and power |
Demonstrates unbelief |
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Eventually looks outward and upward (M-G-O) |
Always looks inward only/ self- focused |
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Is a prayer |
Is a gripe |
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releasing an emotion of mourning that is heard beyond human ears |
Often turns into an outburst of selfishness usually to finite beings |
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Stems from a biblical worldview |
Secular worldview |
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Journey- sorrow to joy, fear to trust |
Pit stop/wallowing |
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Bold and heartfelt- shows heart condition |
Weak and limp- ignores heart condition |
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Restoration, renewal, resurrection, recreation, redemption |
Bitter, un-redemptive, destructive |
In the wilderness, Israel complained to God about the lack of bread and meat and water (Exodus 16-17). They assumed the worst about God: ‘He wants to kill us!’ The people who had been dramatically rescued from Egypt and saved through the Red Sea turned on their Rescuer, painting Him as the villain. Their complaints were actually a way of putting God on trial; they were “testing” God.
But in the psalms, Israel asks God to answer according to His unfailing love, because He is a God of justice and righteousness, and because He has been faithful in the past.
By contrasting Israel in the wilderness with Israel in worship, we can say that a complaint is an accusation against God that maligns His character, but a lament is an appeal to God based on confidence in His character. (NT Wright, G Packaim)
“When people with faith in God experience or witness the realities of injustice, oppression, violence, lying, and all the suffering around them they cry out to God and protest. ‘Why do such things happen?’
It is important to recognize that such a protest is not in itself blaming God for doing wrong. Nor, in my view, is it intrinsically sinful. It is faith seeking understanding. Such protest is not a denial of God’s sovereignty, let alone of God’s existence. Rather it assumes the sovereignty and goodness of God, and on that foundation is bold to hold up before God the realities of our lives that seem to contradict and undermined that very foundation. Protest to God is also protest for God. That is, it emerges from a passionate concern for God's name to be indicated in the midst of all that slanders it.” (C. Wright) **cosmic testimony
Despair results when we lament without hope. But we have Christ’s resurrection. We have eternal hope.
Psalm 30:5b “weeping may stay for the night,
but rejoicing comes in the morning”
All laments lead to the truest form of worship- the worship of God alone. Not God + blessings, benefits, etc.
Unfortunately, biblical laments are typically ignored by a majority of the western churches- until they aren’t. When we wrestle with immense pain and suffering, when the brokenness of this world finally drives us to our knees we quickly learn the language of suffering. However, many- if not most- of us still remain uncomfortable with this foreign language.
*** What is your personal experience with Lament?
Consider and answer me, O, Lord my God;
light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,
lest my enemy say, "I have prevailed over him,"
lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.
But I have trusted in your steadfast (hesed) love;
my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
I will sing to the Lord,
because he has dealt bountifully with me. Psalm 13:3-6
Hesed/Chesed- “stead fast love”- deep abiding covenantal love.
True lament can only happen in the confines of a safe, loving, covenantal relationship where we are free to be raw and real without the fear that our partner will walk away or stop loving us.
Isaiah 54:10- Though the mountains be shaken
and the hills be removed,
yet my unfailing love (hesed) for you will not be shaken
nor my covenant of peace (shalom) be removed,”
says the Lord, who has compassion on you.
The God who speaks calls us into relationship.
Genesis 3:9 “But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”
Lament is one of the ways we respond.
Without lament we have no voice for our sorrows. We can turn silent, angry, and bitter and we distance ourselves from the One who is inviting us to, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest…” (Matthew 11:28)
“Lament is how christians grieve. It is how we learn important truths about God and our world.” (Vroegop) It is so important to truly understand the character of our God through His Word, His Savior and His Spirit. **
***Because the central question to all laments is, “What kind of God do we have?”
While the circumstances of life have a narrative to them, there’s a biblical narrative underneath it all. It is imperative that we know this story- which is His story. “Rehearsing the truth of the Bible preaches to your heart and allows you to interpret pain through the lens of God’s character.” (Chad Bird). It is the language of a people who know the whole story- the gospel story.
**What are some painful struggles that have shaped you and your understanding about God and our world?
Lament dares us to hope when life is hard. God Himself lamented our brokenness- our distance from Him and he did something about it. He heard our cries- our laments stirred his very heart. So He became flesh (Immanuel), experienced lament intimately (he was broken and bruised, crushed and rejected) and then became lament for us. In doing all of this He not only permits lament, He gives us its very language.
Lament is the most common type of psalm. It appears in two distinct varieties in the book of Psalms: individual and communal.
The psalms of “individual lament” are: Psalm 3, 5–7, 13, 17, 22, 25-28, 32, 38, 39, 42, 43, 51, 54-57, 59, 61, 63, 64, 69–71, 86, 88, 102, 109, 120, 130, and 140-43.
The psalms of “communal lament” are: 44, 74, 79, 80, 83, and 89.
We have the book of Job, Lamentations, the prayers of the many barren women throughout scripture, the woman with the issue of blood, distress for loved one’s dying, even Jesus weeps and laments throughout his ministry.
Lament is usually expressed verbally or visually and it can be personal, communal and even national. Old Testament scholars estimate that two-thirds of the psalms are laments. Yet the title of the compilation is “praises” (Hebrew tehillim). We will explore more of this idea in following lessons***
God allows his people to pour our their anguish, frustration and pain without interruption or distain. Then he invites us to abide in Him and He tabernacles/dwells in and with us. He keeps our tears in a bottle-
Psalm 56:8 “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.”
Why? The idea behind the keeping of “tears in a bottle” is remembrance. David is expressing a deep trust in God—God will remember his sorrow and tears and will not forget about him. He knows God is on his side. “In God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?” God is the One in our suffering through Jesus.
Isa. 63:9 NLT “In all their suffering he also suffered, and he personally rescued them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them. He lifted them up and carried them through all the years.”
Dr. Russell Moore in his book, Adopted for Life describes going to an orphanage in Russia as they were in the process of pursuing adoption. The silence from the nursery was eerie. The babies in the cribs never cried. Not because they never needed anything, but because they had learned that no one cared enough to answer. Children who are confident of the love of a caregiver cry. For the Christian, our lament, when taken to our Father in heaven, is proof of our relationship with God, our connection to a great Caregiver. (G Packiam)
“By laying every emotion and every experience before YHWH, their covenant God, the psalmist was reinforcing a bond of intimacy, affirming an attachment. Just as God made covenant with Abraham by the breaking apart of animals, so Israel embodied the bond of the covenant by breaking open their hearts before God.”
In Hosea 11:8-9 (AMP) we see the heart of our God laid bare.
8 How can I give you up, O Ephraim?
How can I surrender you, O Israel?
How can I make you like Admah?
How can I treat you like Zeboiim?
My heart recoils within Me;
All My compassions are kindled together [for My nation of Israel].
9 I will not execute the fierceness of My anger;
I will not return to Ephraim to destroy him again.
For I am God and not man, the Holy One in your midst [who will not revoke My covenant],
And I will not come in wrath or enter the city [in judgment].
**often used to describe the overthrow and destruction of a city, it connotes something that is gut-wrenching. God is revealing His intense compassion for His people.
Hebrews 13:5b For God has said, “I will never fail you.
I will never abandon you.”
Lamentation 3:22 “Because of the steadfast (Hesed) love of the Lord, we are not cut off.”
Jesus hung on a cross and cried out in lamentation. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” It felt as if God had completely abandoned His begotten but God is never far off. Christ, the suffering servant became lament for us, taking our place. It was the outcome the suffering He knew would produce that He looked forward to. Eternal hope. Resurrection. Renewed creation. The eventual end of all suffering for anyone who would call on His name. Psalm 22
“2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2)
1 John 2:1 “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”
It takes effort and repetition to strengthen our lament muscles. "The practice of lament- the kind that is biblical, honest and redemptive- is not natural for us, because every lament is a prayer. A statement of faith. Lament is the honest cry of a hurting heart wrestling with the paradox of pain and the promise of God's goodness." Hope springs from truth rehearsed.
It take faith to lament. It seeks understanding, builds on understanding where it is granted but it does not finally depend on understanding. We do it knowing it leads us back to a place of hope. We know things are not how they are suppose to be and we are longing for the Shalom of God (which has been vandalized- Genesis 3). At the same time we know that God is working out the renewal and restoration of all of creation and even nature itself is groaning- lamenting- with hopeful expectation of that renewal. Lament expectantly.
Revelation 21:3-4 “3 and then I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “See! The tabernacle of God is among men, and He will live among them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them [as their God,] 4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be death; there will no longer be sorrow and anguish, or crying, or pain; for the former order of things has passed away.”
Typical Outline of Lament-
- Address to God
- A complaint
- A request
- An expression of trust and/or praise
Psalm 10 Why, Lord, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
2 In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak, who are caught in the schemes he devises.
3 He boasts about the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the Lord.
4 In his pride the wicked man does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God.
5 His ways are always prosperous; your laws are rejected by him; he sneers at all his enemies.
6 He says to himself, "Nothing will ever shake me." He swears, "No one will ever do me harm."
7 His mouth is full of lies and threats; trouble and evil are under his tongue.
8 He lies in wait near the villages; from ambush he murders the innocent. His eyes watch in secret for his victims;
9 like a lion in cover he lies in wait. He lies in wait to catch the helpless; he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net.
10 His victims are crushed, they collapse; they fall under his strength.
11 He says to himself, "God will never notice; he covers his face and never sees."
12 Arise, Lord! Lift up your hand, O God. Do not forget the helpless.
13 Why does the wicked man revile God? Why does he say to himself, "He won't call me to account"?
14 But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted; you consider their grief and take it in hand. The victims commit themselves to you; you are the helper of the fatherless.
15 Break the arm of the wicked man; call the evildoer to account for his wickedness that would not otherwise be found out.
16 The Lord is King for ever and ever; the nations will perish from his land.
17 You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,
18 defending the fatherless and the oppressed, so that mere earthly mortals will never again strike terror.
“How” Ekah- We ask and demand. We stop faking, quite escaping, don’t walk away. You get to feel what you feel- unedited before an omnipotent God with whom you are in covenant relationship with.
Psalm 13 -“1How long, O LORD?
Will You forget me forever?
How long will You hide Your face from me?
2How long must I wrestle in my soul,
with sorrow in my heart each day?
How long will my enemy dominate me?”
My personal Lament with “ekahs”-
How long God must I suffer this relentless pain?
I do all of the “right” things. But it does not matter.
How do I learn to love this broken version of myself?
How can you use me well?
I want to rage against the unfairness.
I want to wallow in my pity!
How can I keep going on the hardest days?
How can I bless others when I can’t move?
How can my broken paths glorify you?
I am so broken in body and many days in my spirit and mind.
I am terrified to be completely broken.
Help me fear you only.
Help me remember your goodness.
Help me in my discouragement.
My pain is immense but no one has suffered more than you.
I remember.
You are faithful, even when I don’t understand.
“God wants all of your burdens and broken paths but then return your gaze to Jesus. (A. Sampson)
We lament to be still in the unanswerable. The waiting is difficult- why? It feels like we are not doing anything. And that’s the point. We place our trust in God- through lament- and express confidence that He is in control. Waiting on the Lord is never a waste.
Psalm 46:10 NIV “Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted among the earth.”
“What-if” laments allow us to grieve. We have to ask ourselves, “Can I accept the invitation of suffering?” Voice the pain and sorrow you feel while anchoring your heart to truth you declare because when you are stripped of everything and all you have is Him, you have enough.
Practical Tips/homework:
- Always keep praying Job 3 “Job opened his mouth…” psalm 39:1-3
- Don’t lament to find answers
- Don’t incapacitate yourself b/c you’re worried it isn’t correct
- Ask yourself “Can I accept the invitation of suffering?”
- Read the Laments in scripture
- Lament through a biblical lens
- REMEMBER- Hope is a discipline; aligning human feelings with objective fact is no small endeavor
*** Create a lament. It can be a letter, poem, song, prayer journal, art piece, music, etc.
Resources:
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Books- |
Podcasts- |
Music- |
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-The Problem of pain by Lewis -A Louder Song by Sampson -Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy by Vroegop -Is God a Moral Monster by Geisler -Embodied Hope by Kapic -Walking Through Twilight by Groothuis -Suffering is Never for Nothing by Elliot -Philip Yancy -NT Wright |
-Nothing is Wasted -Truth Tribe (Lament as a tonic for suffering) -The Place we find ourselves (why lament surprisingly leads to life and freedom) -Joni Eareckson Tada: Sharing Hope -God’s Big Story (#63 Lament, for kids) |
Shane and Shane- Psalm 130 Fellowship Worship- Psalm 77 Indelible Grace Bifrost Arts Melody Joy Cloud-shattered, my prayer for you, clean Lydia Laird- Hallelujah even here, I’ll be okay, Where your heart is Sovereign Grace Austin French- Why God, Rest for your Soul Traditional hymns, slave songs, singing scripture |
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