lament
“Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord! O Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy! If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand. But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared. I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning..”
Psalm 130: 1-6 ESV
When we are brought to the end of ourselves, lament helps us hear God’s louder song.
Beginning with a personal testimony of God’s rescue from the depths of guilt and sin, Psalm 130 is a cry of deep anguish. Verse 3 helps us understand the depths of anguish the psalmist was in. Amid poverty, confusion, sorrow, and pain, he cries out to Yahweh. He begins lamenting to His Father regarding the awareness and guilt he feels towards his sin.
Many of us can become spiritually overwhelmed in the depths of sin that cause such brokenness and pain in the world. We see it every day and while it’s easy to let guilt and the helplessness of sin defer our hope, we see here the psalmist crying out to God for help. He understood the fragility of his humanness. He understood the only place to turn to was God’s forgiveness.
No one knew grief and suffering better than our King Jesus. Even Jesus Himself lamented to His Father before He died on the cross crying out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me” (Mt 27:46)? What a gift that our God made himself human to understand the human experience. He understands our grief, our pain, our process. He knows our frame.
Beloved, when we are brought to the end of ourselves — lament helps us hear God’s louder song. A song of mercy, a song of grace, of forgiveness. He desires to heal you.
There is a beautiful pathway through suffering. If you let Him, God will lead you towards true healing. Let your lament lead you back to a place of hope.
In joy, peace & love,
Riley Rae Baker
additional reading:
Lamentations 3:22, Jeremiah 9:10, Psalm 22:3, Matthew 27:46, Luke 23: 27, Revelation 18:19
reflect:
Take a moment to cry out to God today. Bring Him the parts that have felt too scary and too vulnerable to share. Bring Him your grief, your disappointment, your anger. He will meet you in your lament.
centering prayer:
Father, today I give you my grief, my disappointments, my anger. I cry out to you and ask that you meet me in this place — that you flood me with your peace, joy and love where I so desperately need. Show me where my heart needs healing and then have your way. Amen.
