“When people listen to you cry and lament, and look at you with love, it’s like they are holding the baby of you.” ~ Anne Lamott
Before my faithful coffeemaker has sighed its morning offering, I have already sung a lament or two. No cheerful humming, or eagerly thrown back curtains usher in my day.
All is not right and I can’t forget it, not with the news as close as my Twitter feed. Not with the cruel arrogance of the haves and their careless abuse of the have-nots, tossed fresh-printed onto my driveway every dawn.
I’m always caught by surprise when bad things happen, as if I were the author of life and when I’m not looking my words wander off the page, wreaking their distressing havoc.
So I lament, but I’m not good at it. I become no better than those I despise by the end of the second verse.
Songs of Lament
It’s amazing they are in the Bible at all, the poems, the songs, and the prophets’ outraged cries. With blunt, sometimes blood thirsty honesty, lament grabs God by the collar and refuses to let him go.
Deliver me, O my God! For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked….I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears…How long, O LORD: Will you forget me forever?….Do not put me to shame, O LORD, for I call on you; let the wicked be put to shame; let them go dumbfounded to Sheol…Let their way be dark and slippery, with the angel of the LORD pursuing them…In your faithfulness put an end to them (From Psalms 3, 6, 13, 31, 35, 54).
Is God really okay with unfiltered fury, with tear-choked thoughts only our pillows can stomach?
Yes. Oh, yes. Let me introduce you to the One who will not flinch from our pain.
The psalmists and prophets complain without fear. In their verses we watch wide-eyed as predators pounce, close friends betray, enemies mock, sufferings loom, vengeance is demanded when God seems suspiciously slow to act.
Why bother?
But what good is lament, when each day brings new material? This may come as a surprise but these psalms were designed for worship, were sung together in the most sacred of places. Why? Because lament serves as a template for healing, it guides our visceral, vengeful thoughts to more dependable ground.
God attentively listens until every complaint is exhausted, and then whispers hope where we thought there was none.
When I thought, ‘My foot is slipping’, your steadfast love, O LORD, held me up. When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul” (Psalm 94:17-19).
The psalms of lament give voice to early morning angst too risky to share, and lead to an embrace too wonderful to miss.
Have you prayed the psalms of lament?
In our series, An Alphabet Adagio, we are savoring the story of the Bible, our story, alphabetically. You can subscribe to e-mail above so you won’t miss a letter. Next: M is for Wisdom, Muddled.
8 replies on “L Is For Lament: Stumbling Uncensored To God”
I love how so many of the Psalms start with complaining and whining (skills that I have perfected) and end with rejoicing or sometimes just contentment. They taught me that I don’t need to stay away from God when my attitude is poor…He is exactly where I need to go.
Thanks, Deb. The psalms are often the only door out of a dark room for me too.
“God leans forward, attentively listening until every complaint is exhausted, and then whispers hope where we think there is none.” The exact words that my heart needed to hear this morning. Seeking deliverance from that which life has brought, I slip into the arms of my Heavenly Father sobbing out my pain and hear the words “trust Me”.
Thank you for this morning reminder!
I’m so glad, Judi. I pray for you to feel your Father’s strong arms around you today.
Jon, I like the perspective of a bird’s eye view. Reminds me of the itrtsllauion of the tapestry. How sometimes we just see the back, all knotty and not making sense. But God sees the beautiful tapestry on the other side. That helps me. I don’t understand why you are unemployed, why I have chronic fatigue, but I don’t have to. When I think about how God knows, then I can put my future in his hands. My times are in His hands. Thank you, Lord. And thanks Jon for your encouragement to see things from the big picture.
Janet, I had a knee replacement done at John Muir 2 weeks ago. Doing well according to surgeon today. But last week, I sunk into despair in the midst of pain and other unrelated physical problems. God brought me to Psalm 41 – vs. 5 – Why, my soul, are you so downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in Go, for I will yet praise Him, My Savior and my God.” Praise God.
Beautiful, Sylvie. Thank you for reminding me of that Psalm! I pray your recovery will bring unexpected blessings!
Jon, work remnias just work, and time off from work remnias just that time off from work. You are not merely an economic creature (no matter how hard the consumerist society we swim in wants you to believe that you are). No matter how hard it is for you to be calm while you’re not working, remember that this time is also a gift so that you can enjoy your family, your friends, and your other (non-work) interests. I know (believe me, I do!) how hard it can be to stop being The Great Hunter, bringing home the Fruits of the Hunt for your family. Learn, if you can, to simply be a human being instead of a human doing. Eventually, something worth doing will come along again, but it may not be what you expect. Your God will bring you opportunity.