LEARNING LAMENT

‘To lament is to express deep regret, grief, or sorrow. We can lament through words or actions.’ This could be for the condition of our own heart, or for our family, faith community, neighbor, city, state, or country or other countries. It appears Biblically to be more personal to a specific situation with a person or group.

Corporate lament, such as Jeremiah’s Lamentations, was for the nation of Israel as Jerusalem was being destroyed by the Babylonians. It is a crying out with pain for our social situation, our spiritual and cultural condition. Paying honest attention with regret, sorrow and grief moves us deeper and closer to healing and restoration. Learning Lament is becoming serious about learning the Father’s heart for us. Lament allows sorrow to be turned into joy… or, perhaps at least some understanding of our situation.

From the cross, Jesus cries out, in the very depths of his suffering and sorrow, as he quotes Scripture (the opening lines of Psalm 22) the great lament:

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”  Jesus