Seeds of Justice: Devotions From a Legacy of Faith and Justiceنموونە

Psalm 12 is a communal lament, a passionate expression of grief or sorrow. It’s an expression of how we feel or how we perceive things. The psalmist, David, begs for help from God because there was none among them whom they could trust. In 2025, we are living in perilous times in which there is so much uncertainty, hate, lack of resources for the poor and oppressed, and the decline of societal moral values. Lament is not a passive act but a subversive act to protest the status quo. Lament can speak truth to power, which can lead to healing.

In verse 5, God answers directly with an assurance that God has kept, will keep, and will preserve God’s word. The psalmist remembers God’s promises over the words of the wicked, and he is brought to praise. The goal of lament is not to stay at that point but to move us through to remember who God is and that God will never leave or forsake you.

When times are bad, we can rely on the fact that (1) We have a God who we can go to and ask for intervention on our behalf; (2) God will punish the wicked; and (3) God will deliver God’s oppressed people.

Probing Questions

• How can we assist others in understanding lament as a process toward healing?
• What practical steps can we take to help others move from lament to hope?

Music for Meditation

“There Is a Balm in Gilead”

Prayer

Good and gracious God. As we are in a season of lament, please give us the courage to speak truth to power. Bring back to our remembrance that your Word will not return void but will accomplish what you desire. Grant us a peace that surpasses all understanding as we continue to stand on your Word and promises. Amen.

Kimberly Lymore, M.Div., D.Min., is the Associate Minister at St. Sabina Church in Chicago and the Director of the Augustus Tolton Pastoral Ministry Program at the Catholic Theological Union. She is a leader with the Pan African Women of Faith/Pan African Women’s Ecumenical Empowerment Network Scholarship and Theology Working Group with Bread for the World and World Council of Churches.

The excerpt was taken from A Legacy of Faith and Justice by Angelique Walker-Smith.