I was blessed to come across some lectures on lament from Michael Card a few months ago and I've been mulling on much of what he's said ever since. I think the topic of lament is very important because I sense that some followers of Christ may not realize that thoroughly expressing their pain and questions to God is a part of a worshiper's life. I have seen and heard of many situations where this disconnect has done great harm to people's faith. So, I wanted to share a few of the things that I took away from these lectures to encourage us all to feel free to lament and worship God in that way.
There is something that Card calls "the equation," an assumption that people through the ages have operated under and expected . Here is "the equation"- God blesses those who are good, and punishes those who are bad. Lament often occurs when people don't see this equation actually working out in real life. Card takes us to Psalm 73 to see a clear example of this.
Verse 1 says that "God is good...to those who are pure in heart." That's a true statement, but it carries that idea of "the equation" in it, which would be that evil won't be experienced by the pure in heart.
Verses 3-12 describe wicked people, how they are prospering despite their pride, violence and mocking of God. In fact the psalmist says that the wicked don't have the troubles that the common good people do. Of course this isn't an accurate statement, but it's true of his experience at this moment and he needs to express this complaint to God.
The psalmist then deduces from this that, "Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure" (verse 13). Again, not true, it is not a vain thing to follow God and walk in righteousness. But Card asserts that this confusion needs to be offered up to God as an act of worship. I don't get this God, but I bring it to you, even though I'm questioning you in all this. Why is it that people who are righteous suffer, while these wicked guys over here are fat dumb and happy?
Half way through, in verses 17 and forward, the tone changes drastically. "You hold me by my right hand," "You guide me with your counsel," "Those who are far from you will perish...But as for me it is good to be near God." What happened to bring about such a transition? The psalmist doesn't get all his questions answered, He gets what he needed. He needed God's presence, and by going to the sanctuary and pouring out this lament in worship, God showed up and met that need.
Michael Card makes the point that when people are lamenting, you don't see God severely rebuking them for things they've said, even when they aren't true. Why would God permit things like psalms 22, 39, 137 (and many others), Job 7, Lamentations, and many more passages of scripture to be in His perfect Word unless He permitted us to give voice to our frustrations, doubts, anger and hatred? It's all part of the process in my opinion. Besides, we see both in Psalm 73 and in Job that eventually those who questioned God, once they've been in His presence, apologize for things they've said.
3 comments:
Loved this post Jesse. Even Jesus lamented on the cross "My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?". This verse along with Psalm 73 brought me through dealing with feelings of being abandoned or simply forgotten by God during some very real (and painful) financial and relational trials several years ago. It was an unbelievable experience to pour my heart out to God, crying or screaming or just plain numbly questioning His existence and then to have Him take my breath away with His presence. There really is no way to put into words what happened. My circumstances did not change. I, however, will never be the same.
Jesse, Thanks for sharing this! We're at Panera, but I can't continue till stupid Power Point finishes downloading, so I thought I'd catch up on some of my favorite blogs while waiting.
In hard times it does feel easy for me to fall into this "equation" type mind-set. Wondering what I'm doing wrong, or why life seems to throw one thing after the other. My encouragement through rough times has been that phrase, "God never said He would not let bad things happen to us, but He always promises to help us through them.
I really loved the way your described the wicked, "fat dumb and happy." That part made me laugh, but at the same point it hits close to home when I have wondered the same thing (with less adjectives ;-) when I've seen friends go through really difficult circumstances.
It is comforting to know that God does care about our frustrations and the littlest things on our mind.
I love the psalms because it depicts real people. Real people who are vulnerable enough to share some of the darkest, most difficult times in life, and who aren't afraid to share the raw emotions that come with them.
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