Hopeful Sorrow: Lamenting Your PainSample

Steps in Lamenting

When lamenting our pain, the first step is to turn toward God. Even though the language within the lament may be expressive or even irrational, the fact that your words are directed to the Lord indicates that you believe He is there to hear them.

Lament is the language of God’s children who understand their need for help, and so they draw near to God’s throne of grace and ask for it. Turning to God affirms your dependence on Him, as it takes humility to realize you cannot fix your situation, ease your grief, or unlock your shackles on your own. The initial turning toward God may not necessarily remove your sorrow, but it is a declaration that there is still hope within it.

Complaint

The next element is complaint, but because we are taught not to complain, you may be wondering how this is permissible.

There is a difference between the complaint seen in lament and the complaints of the Israelites. The Israelites were complaining in a way that attacked the character of God, whereas David complained that his difficulty felt incongruent with God’s character.

Worldly complaint typically involves anger at God, which sinfully arises from the one who wrongly believes God owes them something. Worldly complaint also misinterprets God’s sovereign action as hateful and would never consider that perhaps the goodness of God does not fit into our human definition of good. Godly complaint, however, believes God’s character to be good, rich in mercy, and abounding in steadfast love. This type of complaint is full of faith, as it rightly views God while simultaneously trying to reconcile difficult circumstances that appear opposed to His promises. When we know and believe God is good, yet our circumstances don’t feel good, we can tell Him how confusing that is.

We live in a broken world full of bewildering pain. In God’s deep compassion for us, He has given us examples of how to express our pain to Him like David, who prayed, “Hear me, my God, as I voice my complaint; protect my life from the threat of the enemy” (Psalm 64:1, NIV). The psalms of lament are a salve for the troubled saints on their way home to heaven. They give us permission to voice the anguish we are told to expect in this world from a place of belief.