Lamentations & HallelujahsSample

Bring Your Complaint

If your child got hurt and didn’t say anything until it became unbearable, the most natural response is usually, “Why didn’t you tell me?” We want our kids to tell us what hurts, what is going on with them, so we can offer help, give advice or simply comfort them. Don’t you think it’s the same with our Heavenly Father?

I had a crying towel at one point in my life. When life got overwhelming, and we were down to nothing, I found myself in the bathroom, sobbing and lamenting with my face pressed into the towel.

That towel in the bathroom became my safe space, a place where I could bring my complaints, prayers birthed out of pain to God. Complaints mingled with pain, bitterness, and frustration at times. It was where God and I met. 

The exchange between Jesus and Mary after Lazarus died reveals the heart of God towards us when we are hurting. She said, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” As Jesus observed the weeping, He was deeply moved. John tells us that He wept.

Do you see the pattern here? She addresses Jesus and brings her complaint to Him. Jesus, being deeply moved, asked a simple question, “Where have you laid him?” Jesus did not dismiss her complaint. Instead, it was as if He’d said, “Show me where it hurts." Show me the source of the heartbreak, the source of your pain.

We're not immune or exempt from heartbreak, pain, and loss. May we permit ourselves to lament, to bring our complaints to God as David did in Psalm 64. Hear me, my God, as I voice my complaint, and then echo the words of Mary, “Lord, come and see.” A hallelujah was on its way.

Prayer: Father, I thank You that You hear me as I voice my complaint, as I pour out my heart to You today. I choose to trust in You, even when I don’t understand. Because I know who You are. You are faithful. Your mercies are new each day. You will not leave me or forsake me. I call to mind these things today. Amen