face : lament

It has always seemed to me that “lament” is an old fashioned, out of date word. It seems kind of miserable, dwelling in loss.. loneliness.. who wants that?

Except more recently, I found myself walking in a season of lament. Actively lamenting. And it’s been kind of radical. The dictionary definition of lament is “a passionate expression of grief or sorrow; a complaint”. Passion and grief seem like oxymorons don’t they?

At the end of February, before all this lockdown madness, my lovely mum, after a 15 year battle with dementia, finally passed away. It’s a funny thing dementia - watching someone slowly slip away - it’s a long drawn out season of grieving… saying goodbye to parts of them and you kid yourself that the final part, the death bit, will be easy because who they were hasn’t been there for a long while. I can confirm, this isn’t the case. The grief I felt when I walked into my mum’s room, as she took her last breath, was the most devastating moment. Yet, it was months before this I found myself lamenting.

In Psalm 77, we read “When I was in distress, I sought the Lord; at night I stretched out untiring hands, and I would not be comforted. I remembered you, God, and I groaned; I meditated, and my spirit grew faint. You kept my eyes from closing; I was too troubled to speak.”

How often have we cried out to God in our distress? Sometimes too troubled to speak. A great friend pointed out to me, “isn’t it amazing that despite how we feel, it says He kept our eyes from closing. Even in our worst of times, God keeps our eye open so we can glimpse him.” I love this idea.

The Psalm goes on to say:

“I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. Your ways, God, are holy. What god is as great as our God?”

Lament is rooted in what we believe. It is a prayer loaded with theology - built on what we believe and what we know of the nature of Christ. As Christians, we affirm that the world is broken, God is powerful, and He will be faithful. Sometimes in life, these truths buffer against each other and life hurts… people die, pandemics unnerve us and upset our life rhythms, people lose jobs, lose hope... We feel the sadness, the burden, the weakness and like all is lost. How do we marry up our Christian faith and our experiences of grief. A great quote I read says “Lament stands in the gap between pain and promise. To cry is human, but to lament is Christian.” 1

Lament is how we endure. It’s how we trust. It’s how we wait. Who knew that actively engaging in lament could feel like such comfort and challenge in a time of sorrow? Let’s not wallow in our grief, but be passionate and active in it!

Lament leads us to trust. Again and again. It’s an active, enduring practise of patience. It’s not an ancient concept. It’s not a lonely, isolating path. We cry out to God, we share our pain, we remind ourselves of His unwavering promises, that His ways are higher. We lament.

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References

1 “Learning to Lament - a 5 day devotional”, The Bible App

Inspiration, quote citation and further reading taken from “Learning to Lament - a 5 day devotional” from The Bible App.