One Race, One BloodSample

The concept of lament is heavy. It can seem foreboding and dark if we don’t remind ourselves that we’re only looking back so that we can move forward with His power. Let me make a bold statement: There is no institution on earth more equipped and capable of bringing transformation to the cause of reconciliation than the Church. But we have some hard work to do.

Though it has been eighty-seven years since my mother passed away, I still lament her passing. From deep down in my soul I mourn that she died for reasons that should have been preventable. The doctor’s diagnosis was that she died of pellagra. In everyday man’s language that means that she literally starved to death. In a country of plenty and excess, she died because her body could not sustain itself and provide nourishment for me. And she died because she was a poor black woman in Mississippi. That’s a source of great pain for me when I think about it—even these many years later.

Lament comes from deep down in the soul. We need to give voice to our souls. The god of this world has blinded the eyes of Christians and the eyes of the Church, so we can’t see the condition of our souls. But we can feel it; we can feel the gnawing in our souls. That’s why I love music so much. It’s universal—it skips the eyes and the mind and goes straight to the soul. You feel it. It shakes you. It stirs you. I believe that’s why the music of Scripture—the Psalms—connects so well with us. We can feel what David felt when he cried out to God in Psalm 51.

More than one-third of the Psalms are laments. They allow the psalmist to cry out to God in anguish, knowing that He alone is the ultimate healer and justifier. We see lament used often in Scripture as the Old Testament prophets warned Judah and Israel of God’s soon coming judgment. When Isaiah wrote concerning the coming judgment on Judah he said, “her gates will lament and mourn, and deserted she will sit on the ground” (Isa. 3:26). One reason Jeremiah is called “the weeping prophet” is because the entire book of Lamentations consists of laments warning of God’s judgment and righteous indignation.

But the laments of Scripture do more than just voice painful emotions and serve as an outlet that gives vent to our pain. These psalms of lament stand alone as theology. They teach us about our God and how to worship Him. They transform us.

For the church, corporate lament requires that we acknowledge that something horrific has happened. Something that greatly grieves the heart of our God has happened in His church. We have abandoned His call to oneness and terribly missed the mark Christ set in John 17. May God remove the scales from our hardened hearts and help us to see with eyes of truth.  

We hope you have enjoyed this plan in the John M. Perkins Devotional Series. In 1970, Dr. Perkins was tortured at the hands of the Mississippi police for his leadership in the voting rights movement. His radical forgiveness and tireless pursuit of biblical justice set him on a course where he would counsel six American Presidents, receive 16 honorary doctorates and bring healing to broken communities around the world. His life is a masterclass on purpose, friendship, and joyful endurance. At 91, he wants to pass the baton to the next generation and has created a six-part masterclass to help you discover your God-given purpose in life. To sign up for the free masterclass, visit johnmperkins.com.