Walking Through FireSample

Day 3: Lament

Have you ever experienced a pain so difficult that you didn’t even know how to move forward? When my son Paul died, every breath became a struggle. Daily life was overwhelming and my relationship with the Lord felt like a battle. Grief released so many emotions inside me all at once: sorrow, anger, fear, exhaustion. I didn’t want to explore those- I just wanted to push past the pain. As time dragged on, I learned that my loss wasn’t something to get over but to move through. And the only way to do that was to lament. 

Lament is an honest conversation before the Lord, laying out all our pain, doubts, and fears. We see this type of prayer modeled throughout Scripture, particularly in Psalms, Lamentations, and Job. Instead of coming before God with a sanitized version of what we think is the right Christian response, we are honest with Him. And as we grow in this holy habit, we begin to see a shift inside our own hearts from desperation and fear to hope and an inexplicable peace. The psalmists repeatedly followed this example, starting off their songs with the raw, unfiltered emotion which inevitably led to praise. They went from feeling that God was distant and uncaring to recognizing His goodness, even when their circumstances were still difficult. 

Often people act as if the best way to “get over” grief is to ignore our feelings and head straight to the correct Christian platitude. But that will never serve us in our sorrow. God created us with emotions and disregarding those God-given responses will be harmful rather than healing. We cannot bypass grief, but with lament, we can move through it. Choose to be honest with the Lord today about your pain. 

Ask: 

Have I truly lamented when it comes to my pain and losses? What is keeping me from being honest with God? What do I need to lament right now? 

Pray: 

Lord, help me to learn to lament during difficult seasons instead of hiding from or ignoring my pain. Let me speak honestly with you about what I am feeling and through that practice, heal my broken heart. In Your Name, Amen.