Finding Mercy on the Way of Sorrow

by Robin Ham

Genres: Devotional, Christian

160 pages, Paperback

Published January 8, 2024

Reviews

[Keziah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant Lent devotional through Lamentations. Really blessed me this Lent and helped me understand lament in new ways. The devotionals aren’t massively Easter-oriented, so I’d recommend this for anyone wanting to do a deep dive into Lamentations. A helpful guide to a rather unknown book in western church culture, but one which he (rightly) points out we need to get to grips with.

[Rebekah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm afraid this book became a bit of a struggle to finish. I think the thing I found most unhelpful was that it felt like Jesus was consigned to this little grey box at the end of the day's devotion, like an afterthought or an add-on, or sometimes Jesus was missed out entirely. When really, going to Jesus should have been in the body of what Ham said each day, so Jesus could have been front and centre, and we could see how Lamentations pointed forward to Him. This is a lent book after all. There were some really obvious points where he could have gone to Jesus and he just didn't, or did it in a way that felt like 'oh yes, we know about the Gospel'. For instance, when he got to the last verse of Lamentations (Day 36) Ham could have raised the question, how will we know if we will face God's eternal rejection and His anger for our sin or not? -We can have a confidence that God's people couldn't then, that Jesus faced God's anger for our sin so that we are welcomed in, and that gives us hope in our suffering and struggle. Ham instead only talks about how we might be living in the middle of unresolved tension and that it's hard to live in the reality of the Gospel, but he doesn't take time to actually spell out the Gospel and see how this particular passage points us forward to Jesus. So it feels like he's missing a step and just jumping forward to us without first seeing how it's fulfilled in or points forward to Jesus. He does however pick up the theme again the following day and go to Jesus, but he could have signalled that when we were actually looking at the passage.
Because when Ham did actually focus on Jesus, it was often great, so it just felt odd that it was tacked on at the end in these grey boxes and not the focus of each devotion. It seemed a very strange editing and formatting choice to me, but I think writers shouldn't write in a way in which they have a bit about Jesus that can be sectioned off from the whole.
Ham even says on Day 32, 'The definition of a Lent well spent is surely to lean on a great Christ.' What a fantastic statement! But the irony is that he doesn't go on to do that (except on the last few days) and hasn't particularly done that well in the previous chapters. This particular chapter ends with questions about whether your prayer life is polished or plain-spoken, and then a call to throw ourselves upon God and His promises. At least give us a line about Jesus, or how we can come to God in our pain because of Jesus. Especially after saying Lent should be all about Jesus! We just need more of the actual Gospel throughout this devotional, not just implications of the Gospel or living in the light of it, or challenges to repent more because of it. Give me more of Jesus Himself. Otherwise it becomes vague at best and worksy or guilt-inducing at worst.

I also found a number of the song suggestions very strange. And I love music and I'm a singer and musician, so I'm up for weird stuff. But these songs often lacked clarity and sometimes said stuff I didn't agree with (like how WE comfort Jesus, the Man of Sorrows!? I've no idea where the singer got that from!). And there wasn't always a clear correlation between the devotion and the song. So I started to ignore those.
The slow tiptoe through Lamentations also didn't always feel very helpful and sometimes it felt like we lost the sweep of the book.

I love Ham's choice to go through Lamentations during Lent, but I wanted to be taken to Jesus each day, and not as a side note, as the main point and application. Saving Jesus till the end doesn't help us understand Lamentations well, and doesn't help us focus on Jesus and His Gospel. And it was clear Ham could deliver this, because you found some great nuggets sometimes in these little grey boxes. But they weren't often enough and felt like an afterthought.

[Adam Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't read this for Lent, which was a bit chronologically disorientating at points. But this was still such a helpful devotional - showing us Jesus and helping us find our rest in him, through the OT book of Lamentations. We don't tend to read Lamentations very much as Christians, but Robin Ham shows us how precious the book is, and how it teaches us to lament, grieve, and hope in times of sorrow. Each day also has a connection with a song, compiled into a Spotify playlist (some of which I suggested to Robin, and I definitely recommend those ones).

[Jason Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent 40 day devotional based on the book of lamentations . Much that is practical and hopeful in a Christ centred way is drawn out .