“It seems to me that we do not need to be taught how to lament since we have so many models in Scripture. What we need is simply the assurance that it’s okay to lament. We all carry deep within ourselves a pressurized reservoir of tears. It takes only the right key at the right time to unlock them. In God’s perfect time, these tears can be released to form a healing flood. That’s the beauty and the mystery of the prayer of lament.” – Michael Card [emphasis mine]
Card is correct that there are lots of models of laments in the word of God. The Psalms are full of them and Jeremiah penned the book of Lamentations, one big lament! But do we know what a good lament looks like?
Generally, a lament allows us to pour out our real feelings to God. Not the socially acceptable ones, but the feelings we mostly keep to ourselves for fear of offending or hurting others. Some are so painful we might be afraid to face them ourselves. We tell God what we think of Him by rehashing everything until there nothing left to say. “Where were you God?”
We also get to explain how we did not deserve whatever happened and what an injustice it was. We need to say whatever we mean…what our raw emotions feel. King David was really good at that. Psalm 28:4 “Give to them according to their work and according to the evil of their deeds;
give to them according to the work of their hands; render them their due reward.”
Do we really understand how important a good lament is? If we stuff the feelings they can have serious physical effect on our health and emotions. God asks us to give them to him. This leads to Card’s crucial point: Do we give ourselves permission to unlock the tears we have held back, sometimes for decades?
By “uncorking” them on paper or however we feel safe, it enables us to figuratively take a step back. “Wow!” Often, the longer they are stuffed, the more surprised we are by what was there. Our Maker, however, is not surprised because God was with us through all of it whether we know it or not.
Then we can bring it full circle. When we bring our emotions into the light of the presence of God we can do at least two things with them. We hand them over to God to handle, thanking Him for being able to take care of it all and we ask God to meet us where we are. By doing that, we release the pain and we let God take care of our healing and the circumstances. Afterwards there is room in our life for blessing and the fruit of the Spirit.
What have you been afraid to let out? Find a safe time and place and be honest with God.
