A right time to lament, another to cheer (Ecc. 3)
This pre-Easter Lent season is showing me so much about humility, repentance, suffering. Last weeks topic was Lament. So honest to Jesus I wasn't really sure about lamentation and if we needed to do so. I realize its essential but still not sure if I use it correctly in a sentence. Here are my notes and some captions of the Journey To the Cross devotional...
+We lament to realize the power of God in our suffering...
We often think that being a Christian means we must always be happy, sweeping our grief under the rug of God's sovereignty. YET God desires to enter into our pain:
Romans 8:26-28
Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God's Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don't know how or what to pray, it doesn't matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That's why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.
+We lament to remind Him of his promises, we become less focused on the suffering and more focused on his mercy and forgiveness---his salvation open to us. AT NO COST.
It is such a peaceful rest that blows ice coffees and massages out of the water.
So what are we supposed to do with our pain, anger, grief and confusion? Can I bring these before God? Yes- David, Jeremiah, Job and even Jesus revealed to us that these emotions can actually be turn into prayers of faith.
Jeremiah laments:
...We hoped for peace— nothing good came from it; We looked for healing— and got kicked in the stomach...Your reputation is at stake! Don't quit on us! Don't walk out and abandon your glorious Temple! Remember your covenant. Don't break faith with us! Can the no-gods of the godless nations cause rain? Can the sky water the earth by itself? You're the one, O God, who does this. So you're the one for whom we wait. You made it all, you do it all. (Jeremiah 14:19-22 MSG)
Better news! Not only does God hear and understand our pain, Hes especially inclined to those who are hurting.
Ps 34:18 says God is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.
+We lament before God, also for and with one another.
It takes a different kind of faith and courage to do that! Often times we're afraid of other people's pain and we're afraid we don't have answers. To enter into someones suffering and to lament with them is to seek God with them.
This devotion goes on to say the same way our failure to lament cuts us off from the heart of God , it also cuts us off from each other. If we are to love one another like Jesus commanded, we have to learn to weep with those who are weeping. Romans 12:15
We must pray with and over the hurting. This is essential to authentic Christian faith: "Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. Galations 6:2
Eugene Peterson says "For at least one reason why people are uncomfortable with tears and the aight of suffering is that is it a blasphemous assault on their precariously maintained American spirituality of the pursuit of happiness" Its a lot easier to keep the American faith if they dont have to listen to our laments, if they dont have to deal with our tears.
The way of Christian fellowship is empathy, which means we must not assume that everyone around us is fine. We must listen for complaints and cries and help them become laments. In our gathered worship we must acknowledge hurting and leave room for suffering and silence.
We cant close our eyes to the things around us. We cant/ don't have pleasure and feel pleasant all the time. Dont get me wrong pleasure and joy are not bad things. But if we think our life should be pleasureable all the time, we are never going to be satisfied. We have to trust that God is with us even when things dont feel so good. Sometimes they are for our own good, and sometimes it a hurt result of the sin in this world.
But I think we are so used to having what we need for all comfort- lattes and pedicures. We dont even turn an ear to the shoeless and hunger pains.
We can act like its somebody else's problem, but face it --when you are having a problem you want and sometimes even expect people to be there helping you out. and remember God is always there.
+We lament to tune into God's plan and purpose...
I learned in the Lioness Arising study by Lisa Bevere, that when we truly see our God's purpose for us as "one reaching many" --thats where we find full satisfaction and healing.
For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. (Ephesians 2:10 NLT)
That even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) (Ephesians 2:5 NLT)
For this reason I lament, and for this reason I rejoice.
Thanks for listening,
Alyssa
