Unfinished Faith: Relearning God.

The bit where I introduce:  Lament -Crying out to God because I had to:

Questions: Does grief, disappointment and protest belong in faith? Or to make it slightly harder, does it belong in your faith? If so, what does/ did it look like? Have you ever thought does God grieve? If grief is the ultimate price of love, and God is love then wouldn’t he lament?

I did not really contemplate or embrace lament, until I had to. It was one of those terms that gets thrown around- Christian speak but it was not something I did. Life was ok, sure there were difficulties but that’s life, right?

*Disclaimer- this devotion is deeper than previous weeks and in it I will be honest in my own road to my faith, which might be a surprise, but I strive for authenticity.

Then I found myself in situations where I had to choose in the deepest sadness I have ever known did my faith have enough substance to let me lament? Or did I find myself wanting to abandon God because he allowed me to go through such grief and sadness?

The bit where I refer to the bible: and ask a few rhetorical questions:

Lamentations/ Job/Psalms take your pick- I strongly encourage you this week to read verses/ chapters on Lament in these books. Biblical characters like Job and David like us did not always understand what God was doing in their lives. Lament is an expression for people that do not have a faith as well, strong lament is worldly and more people express it than we think within their own expressions through culture perhaps.

Lament is to put it simply expressing regret, grief and disappointment about something If you have a faith in God then it is aimed at Him. There are key elements in lament also which I will highlight later.

Job- in the book of Job is the “pin up guy” for the ultimate lesson on lament. Job cried out to God countless times about extreme life circumstances that had him go through undeserved suffering. Key word here I think is undeserved. He was asking God why me? and why was God targeting him? Pretty direct- he was not mixing words in his dialogue with God- “not happy Jan” times a thousand. Ever said that in your faith framework? What also impacts my reading of Job is that after all his lament, Job got no answers from God in the end, no specific answers to his suffering. God for all intense purposes seemed silent.

David’s focus of lament was feeling overwhelmed on account of his enemies and feeling abandoned by God through profound loss. Ever felt like that?

When suffering comes to you or someone else- is your first instinctive thought “Why are you targeting me/ them God, what did I do to deserve this? “If so, lament is for you.

In my study and practice in life of lament throughout the years I have come to realise the point of it. I am allowed to express my grief and sadness to God showing that this is not a form of weakness but ironically worship and in that I have found at times in my lament a greater understanding of what I do believe, and who God is to me. Did I like it? Hell no, did it benefit me in hindsight? Hell yes.

 Lament can open the door to pleading albeit in horrible life circumstances sometimes for God to act in our lives. The trap is in our spiritual immaturity or desperation we want God to change our circumstances, not necessarily change our heart in that. But I would say majority of the time we want the change in circumstances, right?

I will be honest in saying during seasons of deep loss, I discovered that even well-meant bible verses did not always bring comfort. Not because the Bible lacks truth, sometimes grief, loss or disappointment cannot always be comforted by explanations or promises spoken too quickly, but because grief has a way of numbing our ability to take it on board. Sometimes the most sacred response to suffering is not a verse shared, but a shared moment: a listening ear and the courage to stay.

Job and David learn that God can manage honesty- raw unfiltered honesty and let us face it when you are in a crisis that’s what comes out of your mouth! And what came out of theirs.

If you want to start to Lament or now going through something unthinkable or something that feels undeserved or unfair, then here are the key elements aka “the formula” for lamenting 101 to God.

Turning to God-Complaining-Appealing for help-Trusting-Physical expression.

I would say that order is usually the most common expression but like grief- it is not always linear or orderly. Remember the focus is to bring what you are unhappy about- tell Him and then sit back and trust Him. How that looks is up to you.

Let me ask you this: Is your faith strong enough to do that right now in your life? Not rhetorical. Are you willing to do that or too unhappy to even try?

The bit where you get to think about stuff: Questions for the week

What losses am I still carrying, even if life has moved on?

Where do I feel unseen or unheard?

What would it sound like to speak honestly to God right now?