When we are confronted by the painful realities of a broken world the Lord encourages us to lament. Lament is a foreign concept to the Western world. We often consider laments synonymous with complaining or even a lack of faith. Yet a lament is something different, it is godly and ought to be a part of our life in Christ.
A lament is an intentional appeal to the Lord when we experience the broken places that unnaturally reside in God’s good creation. Death is the most prominent, unnatural intruder into God’s world and yet we can lament many ways that the world is not as it once was. We live in a world filled with fears, enemies, natural disasters, sins, and disconnection from our Heavenly Father. The Scriptures are filled with laments or stories about individuals who lament. Some scholars categorize a third of the psalter as psalms of lament.
Consider Psalm 13. The Psalmist begins with a cry of longing. “How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?” David, as the author, does not describe the details of his circumstance. Even as he mentions an enemy (vs. 2 & 4) but we do not know who or even what this enemy is. Instead David describes his emotional state, his despair, before the Lord. David concludes the psalm with a renewed trust and praise to the Lord. Through his cry he is reminded of the Lord’s faithfulness and provision.
For us laments are often emotive or visceral; reactive to suffering and grief. They are actions that foster a longing in our hearts for what lies beyond the broken world. Laments are acts of faith because they do not allow us to resign our lives and circumstances to apathy or detachment. Laments allow us to experience the bitter pain in the world and direct that sorrow to our Redeemer. We know there is something greater than our limited experience because we have heard and received the grace of the Lord Jesus.
Laments are important for us to consider in our current situation as we endure the effects of the Coronavirus. As we must endure limited fellowship with our family in Christ, we lament. While our corporate worship is suspended, we lament. This lament is valuable and purposeful. It directs us to long all the more to be gathered together. We are reminded of the value of our fellowship as believers and our need for community. Through our cries of “how long” we can declare “but I have trusted in your steadfast love.” Be encouraged and know that these seasonal laments draw us to the greatest of longing: “Come quickly Lord Jesus”.
