Dear Church Family,
Please allow me to ask a personal question. “Have you done any lamenting lately?” That probably was not a question you thought I would ever ask and it is not part of an April Fools joke. I hope the answer to the question is yes. If you have not yet lamented, consider doing so. Yes, this does seem strange to us. Richard Beck writes, “In our relationship with God, we tend to privilege certainty over doubt, praise over lament, and positivity over negativity…We assume that faith and lament are on opposite ends of the same continuum…As faith goes up, lament goes down, and vice versa.” Let me share why it is good to lament.
In times of uncertainty and trial the psalmists lamented. In fact over half of the psalms contain some form of lament. By lament, I mean the human author inspired by the Holy Spirit cries out to God due to some crisis in his life. The rough times cause despair to the writer and he pleads to God for help. As another writer observes, “In a lament, the psalmist honestly unveiled to God the innermost confidences of his heart – a heart often filled with anguish, fear, bitterness and/or anger.”
Those writers were not theological lightweights. David was a “man after God’s own heart.” The sons of Korah were trained priests. God graced Solomon with extraordinary wisdom. The Faith Hall of Fame lists Moses as one of its members. Note the pleas that show the deep emotions expressed in their laments: “How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever?” (Ps 13); “My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me all day long, ‘Where is your God’” Ps. (42); and “Relent , O Lord! How long will it be? Have compassion on Your servants?” Ps (90).
The most well-known lament comes in Psalm 22:1. David cries out, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Why are You far from saving me?” That plea is famous because Jesus quoted it as He cried out in anguish while hanging on the cross. God the Father had abandoned His only Son whom He had sent to bear the sins of the world. If Jesus could lament in His time of need, certainly the ones for whom He died can lament as well. That is reason enough for us to lament from this side of heaven.
Again from Richard Beck, “Lament isn’t a failure or lack of faith. Lament is an act of bold, trusting faith in the midst of pain, suffering, and confusion…Without lament, faith grows naive and superficial – a happy, fake, glossy facade we paint over the pain and confusion.” So on this April Fools Day, it might be a blessing for us to be honest with ourselves and God (and we can’t fool our Heavenly Father) and offer our laments to God. Again I ask, “Have you done any lamenting lately?”
Pastor Gillikin