Seven-Day Practical Faith Blog: Faith Leads to Lament Leads to Faith

I promised in my January Ministry Connections newsletter (please subscribe on the Cecil Taylor Ministries home page) that I would post some blogs during Lent on lamenting. Lament is the practice of expressing deep sorrow, grief, or regret to God, not only as a complaint, but as a faithful way to process pain, sin, or loss, often leading back to trust and hope in God.

I like what Ryan Higgenbottom wrote:

When we meet hardship, our natural state is grumbling. But it takes faith to lament...Bringing our anguish and mourning to God wouldn’t make sense if he weren’t listening, caring, powerful, and similarly grieving at the broken state of the world.

I'm sensing more and more the broken state of the world, which is why I've been lamenting more and more.

The Bible has many examples of lament. The classic one is Psalm 13. I choose it because it was extremely important in rescuing my friend, "Katie."

Although she was a leader in her church youth group, Katie's family dynamics were tumultuous. Way past midnight one night, Katie was so despondent, she wanted to take her own life. Through a miracle (details are in my book, "The Next Thing"), Katie was led to Psalm 13, a psalm of David.

The first four verses spoke to Katie:

How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me?

Look on me and answer, Lord my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death, and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,” and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

Like Psalm 13, like Katie, we might start our lament with, "How long, Lord?" I find this true for myself. I lament, "How long will our world be this broken? How long until we see your kingdom revealed? How long until you move your hand and take action?" Nearly the same could be said for other types of lament, for example, lamenting for health of yourself or a loved one.

We want answers. We may even wonder if we'll ever see change in this life.

That's where Katie was - demanding answers. As she read on, she received an answer from verses 5 and 6.

But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.

I will sing the Lord’s praise, for he has been good to me.

Those verses stopped Katie in her tracks. David's faith shone through despite difficulty, despite his frustration, despite his lament. Faith led David to lament and yet find faith once more.

Katie decided to press on with her life, eventually going into ministry.

We lament because we have faith in God. We know we can turn to God to listen and hopefully change the situation. We find faith again, realizing God's goodness in the past and everlasting goodness in the future.

Go ahead and lament. You might feel better. You might come away more faithful.

"The Next Thing: A Christian Model for Dealing with Crisis in Personal Life" won a Christian Indie Award for nonfiction a couple of years ago. You can find it at major online booksellers or purchase it from me directly at https://store.ceciltaylorministries.com/products/book-set-the-next-thing.