None of us need look far to find situations or circumstances that are not ideal. We each can see realities of life, difficult circumstances, things we wouldn’t choose. We see these in our personal lives, in our families, in our church, in our community, country, and world. These things can be overwhelming. And, sadly, some of us have learned that these have no place in a life of faith. We have been taught, either directly or indirectly, that either once we follow Jesus, either hard things shouldn’t happen to us or we should skip past them, not express them, and simply claim our “victory in Jesus”. The truth is that we do have victory in Jesus. The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus do empower us to live purposefully and abundantly in the Kingdom, here, now, and forever; however, we don’t get there by denying reality.

So, what do we do with these circumstances we wouldn’t choose?!

We turn to the biblical practice of lament. We learn to lament.

We are actually given numerous examples in scripture that a walk with God does not require a denial of reality. (Over 60 of the Psalms are psalms of lament!) We are allowed to bring it all to God. Life in the God’s Kingdom allows space to name and notice reality AND experience God’s sustaining presence in all aspects of our life.

So, what is lament?

Lament is not a laundry list of complaint. It is an invitation to bring our reality to examine it before and with God. It is an invitation to name and remember with God and to find God in the middle of our circumstances and grief and sin.

Lament is anchored in our hope in God. It acknowledges that life is not as God initially created it to be. It allows us to bring the realities of life, the difficult circumstances, the things we wouldn’t choose, the things that grieve our hearts to Him. Lament makes space to acknowledge our sorrow and let God exchange it for hope. It creates a space where we can come in honesty and vulnerability and be reminded of who our God is and find a trust that lets us keep our hearts and heads turned towards God.

1. “Prayers of lament are not emotions, hopelessness, or weeping. These kinds of prayers hold particular power that led the people of God towards trust in God. Faith and lament are not antithetical; they are actually two sides of the same coin. To embrace our grief and sorrow is to be human—to lay them at the feet of Jesus in prayer is to lament. Lament wholeheartedly involves surrender and postures of ‘I don’t know.’ Lament involves all of us, our emotions, and situations—but offers hope rather than fear.” –Karley Hatter 

While there are many ways to practice lament, we lament from a posture of faith in God. One way is a 2-part lament pattern found in Lamentations 3. We begin with a remembering - a bringing to God our “affliction and our wandering” (Lamentations 3:19). We name them specifically. And then we enter part two, the “yet this I call to mind” (Lamentations 3:21), where we recall the things we know to be true of God. This is where we find our hope; it's not lament without hope.

Let's practice Examen together