Finding Words for Sorrow

Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has he in anger withheld his compassion?

Psalm 77:9

When I leave, my dog, Coco, copes with her sadness by hiding her head under a blanket. I sometimes wish that a blanket over my head had the same power to resolve my distress.

I recently attended a study on the theology of suffering. I learned that the fall in the Garden of Eden required introducing new vocabulary. Scripture added such words as thorns, death, sin, shame, hiding, deception, and banishment causing the whole tone of God’s Word to change. God also created ways to process the pain sin brought like tears, funerals, and memorials.

The most complex grief, though, required wrestling with the paradox of pain and God’s goodness. For this, God created what we know as "a lament." Multiple passages in Scripture demonstrate how laments help connect us with God.

Asaph’s lament in Psalm 77 reveals the anguish of his heart when he wrote, “Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has He in anger withheld his compassion?” (v. 9).

Asaph’s conclusion then shows the healing available through lament. He returns to what he knows to be true, an eternal truth that quiets his heart. I will remember the deeds of the LORD; …. I will consider all Your works and meditate on all Your mighty deeds. Your ways, God, are holy. What god is as great as our God? (vv. 11-13).

Father, thank You that Your Word is relevant for all aspects of life, in joy and in times of lament. Show me how to glean wisdom and direction from Your Word when struggling to find my way through the paradox of pain and Your goodness. Thank You for drawing ever so close during those times. Prompt me to share Your faithfulness with others during their own times of lament just like Asaph has done for me. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

Linda Lesniewski