Lament, Finding a Path for Your Griefনমুনা

Supporting Fellow-Believers in Their Grief

“Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.” (Romans 12:15)

It is healing to pour out your heart before God; to tell Him what is on your mind, to lay your questions before Him and beg Him for help. We have seen how this can pave the way to new hope and renewed confidence.

But sometimes people are barely able to do that. One may be so overwhelmed by grief, or so discouraged after years of hopeless suffering, that they can hardly pray. Then it is very difficult to comfort or help such a person. After all, we too have no solution and often no answer to the agonizing questions of why God allows all this to happen! Perhaps we feel so helpless when confronted by the other person's overwhelming sorrow that we would rather stay away....

Especially in such situations, it can be a blessing to lament together with - or on behalf of - the suffering fellow-believer. We can use our own words or words from the Bible; we can lament individually or as a group. We may lay our complaints before God and boldly ask Him to intervene. We may express our trust in Him, even if the other person cannot at that moment, in order to support that person in his or her need.

Are there people around you who are suffering intensely? Could you lament with them?

Thanks for completing this reading plan. We hope you enjoyed it. If you’d like to read more about this theme, you can download an e-book by Mark Vroegop, titled “Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy. Discovering the Grace of Lament”.

We would also encourage you to subscribe to another Biblword Reading Plan.