We tend to have a Playlist for almost anything. From your gym playlist, to your wedding playlist, even to your playlist of sad songs for when you feel down. Today, we're continuing to learn from Jesus' playlist in the Psalms, as we dive into his Psalms of lament.
Laments are songs of SADNESS AND ANGER. These are typically complaints to God, sometimes even complaints about God. In Psalm 13, David uses a laments to direct his situational pain back to God. He begins by asking God how long he would experience emotional pain in the depth of his soul as he hid from King Saul, who was trying to kill him. Instead of stuffing his fear and pain, David is honest with God, crying out God to deliver him from his enemies.
As the Psalm progresses, David turns to God in trust, remembering God's goodness to him. While this may feel like a drastic shift in tone, this is actually very common in laments. These Psalms typically start with a strong protest against God, but then end with a praise.
LAMENTING BRINGS YOUR SADNESS TO GOD
Like David in Psalm 13, have you faced a “How long Oh Lord” situation in your life? Are you facing one right now? Often in our lives, hardship isn't a matter of “if” as much as it is a matter of “when.” So, invite God’s power into your moments of longsuffering. He is there with you in the pain.
LAMENTING INVITES GOD’S POWER INTO YOUR PAIN
In Psalm 13:3-4, David sets the example for inviting God's power into our pain. As he experiences injustice, he writes a protest to God. Contrarily, in our culture we may lean towards stuffing emotions or verbally vomiting everything we’re feeling. However, we have a third and better option – to lament and bring it all to Jesus through protest and praise. Ultimately, lamenting is the spiritually mature response to sadness and sorrow.
LAMENTING LEADS TO CONFIDENCE IN CHRIST
You may be wondering… How can complaining to God lead to putting our confidence in Jesus? Honestly, we don't know how long it took David to write Psalm 13, but in the end, he puts his trust in God and praises Him in song. After David lamented, God’s Spirit met him... and his lamenting created space for God to meet him right there in his pain.
Do you know why God can handle your pain? Because he’s been there too! When Jesus died on the Cross to save our broken world from sin and death, he felt the deepest pain. When Jesus was on the Cross dying, he cried out to God in lament. In the darkest moment of history, God’s resurrection power redeemed the greatest suffering to use it for good – and he has the power to resurrect us from our pain and suffering today! I encourage you: Turn your laments to praise by turning to God in your pain today.