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Kindle Notes & Highlights
by
Mark Vroegop
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May 29 - July 16, 2020
Finding an explanation or a quick solution for grief, while an admirable goal, can circumvent the opportunity afforded in lament—to give a person permission to wrestle with sorrow instead of rushing to end it. Walking through sorrow without understanding and embracing the God-given song of lament can stunt the grieving process.
When the circumstances of life create dark clouds, I hope you’ll come to embrace lament as a divinely given liturgy leading you to mercy. This historic song gives you permission to vocalize your pain as it moves you toward God-centered worship and trust. Lament is how you live between the poles of a hard life and trusting in God’s sovereignty.
But lament is different. The practice of lament—the kind that is biblical, honest, and redemptive—is not as natural for us, because every lament is a prayer. A statement of faith. Lament is the honest cry of a hurting heart wrestling with the paradox of pain and the promise of God’s goodness.
Definition of lament:
Christians affirm that the world is broken, God is powerful, and he will be faithful. Therefore, lament stands in the gap between pain and promise.
The world is broken
Lament can be defined as a loud cry, a howl, or a passionate expression of grief. However, in the Bible lament is more than sorrow or talking about sadness. It is more than walking through the stages of grief. Lament is a prayer in pain that leads to trust.
What is lament?
Lament is the language of a people who believe in God’s sovereignty but live in a world with tragedy.
This is one of the blessings of suffering if we allow lament to lead us. The various trials of life can become a platform to reaffirm our dependence upon the Lord. The requests of lament can become the place where we celebrate our need for God’s help. In this way, our requests become more than just expressions of need. These petitions are prayers of faith anchored in what we believe about God.
Songs of sorrow and the Man of Sorrows meet us in our pain. They invite us to keep asking with bold confidence. No matter what the situation or the pain, they call us to move from why to who by calling upon God to act.
“All true songs of worship are born in the wilderness of suffering,” says musician and author Michael Card.
Pain can bring clarity. Loss affirms trust.
“The psalms are given to us as a divine pedagogy for our affections—God’s way of reshaping our desires and perceptions so that they learn to lament in the right things and take joy in the right things.”
Lament psalms:
After a few encouraging words, he closed with a statement that has become an anchor for my soul and often my target in lament: “Keep trusting the One who keeps you trusting.”
John Piper's encouragement:
As Nicholas Wolterstorff says in his book Lament for a Son: “I shall look at the world through tears. Perhaps I shall see things that dry-eyed I could not see.”
Though tears:
As is the case with every lament, there is a history behind what’s written in Lamentations. Much like the struggles that are a part of your story, the circumstances of life are the canvas on which God paints a picture. There’s a narrative through every person’s life. Whether it’s the story of Judah’s fall or the perplexing elements of your life, there are lessons to be learned. Lament not only vocalizes the pain but can also memorialize the message beneath the struggle—if we’ll listen and not forget.
The history of your struggles:
Lament is a prayer in pain that leads to trust.
“Keep Trusting the One Who Keeps You Trusting”
John Piper quote
Lament is the song we sing in the space between pain and promise. It becomes the path between the poles of a hard life and trusting God’s goodness. Lament helps us embrace two truths at the same time: hard is hard; hard is not bad.
What is lament?
