Wait! Stop! There are some needs that you need to know about God before you lament.

Lament is not just expressing sorrow, but it is deepening our relationship with God by expressing our sorrow. We need to know God and know his character.

You Need to Have a Personal Relationship with God

Lament is the cry of a child to his/her heavenly Father. To truly lament you need to have a personal relationship with God. Are you a child of God? Do you know Jesus as your personal saviour? It is through Jesus that we have a relationship with God.

As a child of God, you have the relationship to go to your heavenly Father with your pain, disappointment, and suffering. Lament is not dumping our problems or blaming others for the problems. Just like a small child goes to daddy with a stubbed toe. Lament is taking our problems to God and through that conversation with God, we praise and worship him.

Learning to Lament. Living to Praise

Things to Know About God

Books can be written about knowing God and many have been written. I just want to highlight some characteristics of God that are important as we lament. These are some of the things that we need to know about God before we lament.

You need to know who God is and his character. You might not understand it fully but having an understanding of this characteristic and having confidence of who God is will help you to lament.

God is with you – Often the cry of lament is “where is God?” or “I feel like God is not with me.” Remember that Jesus has promised to never leave us or forsake us. It is not based on our doing but on his being with us. No matter what is happening in your life be confident that God is with you. Deuteronomy 31:6-7 reminds us that God will never leave you or forsake you. You can have confidence that God is with you.

God is for you – As the disappointments and sufferings come, know that God is for you. It might seem that they come one after another and it just keeps coming. The lie you might hear is, “God is not for you. Look what God is doing to you.” Do not listen to the lie. Listen to truth. You are loved by God. You are his child. Paul knows what it is to suffer disappointment and physical suffering. Yet, he writes with confidence knowing that God is for us as children of God. Romans 8:37-39.

God is merciful – In our lament, we are often looking for God’s mercy. Mercy is not giving us what we desire. Know that God is merciful. God proclaims his mercy to Moses and that is still true for us today. “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin,” Exodus 34:6-7

God is good – The lie that God is not good began a long time ago in the Garden of Eden. That is what Satan told Eve. The truth was there in the garden and continues to be true today. God is good. Remember that when you are going through the suffering, disappointment and pain. God is good and uses all that happens for his good. Psalm 34:8 reminds that not only is God good but we can take refuge in him.

God is sovereign – Sovereign is one of those words that makes some people draw close to God and others why if he is sovereign is he not doing more. Sovereign means the supreme ruler. He has authority and power. He is sovereign over the whole world. There is nothing that God does not knows. Nothing is a surprise to him. Personally, that has been my greatest comfort during some of the disappointment and suffering in my life.

God is mighty – This has the idea that God has the power to work on your behalf. God is big enough and strong enough for whatever is happening in your life. There are no limits to God. We are limited in what we can do but God is not limited. Know with confidence that God is mighty.

God is just – At times our lament can be caused by injustice to ourselves or lamenting the injustice done to others. It is good to lament those things for that grieves God’s heart as well. As we lament, we need to remember that God is just and he will bring judgement to those who do not repent. It is not our place to do that but God’s place. Lament injustice, fight for those being mistreated, mourn for how we have failed to love one another but know that God is just.

God is eternal – God’s plans for us are plans for eternity. He knows beyond our limited days. We see what is happening today and guess about tomorrow but God knows it all. As we lament, we need to remember that God’s plans for our lives are more than just today.

Do you struggle to understand these truths about God? Allow your struggle to lead you closer to knowing God. Begin to trust him even if you don’t understand all of what it means.

These are some of the basic truths that you need to know as you begin to lament. You need to have confidence in who God is so that you can lament in a way that will deepen your relationship with God. Lament should end with praise and worship, trusting that in all things God is God.

Having confidence in who God is will allow you to lament in a way that deepens your relationship with God.

Would you add anything to this list? Leave a note in the comments.

Learning to Lament. Living to Praise

If you want to read the lament books reviews, that post can be found here.