When was the last time you poured out your heart to God? I mean, really let him have it? If that’s hard to answer, or you can’t remember, it could be because, like most of us, we have a hard time being uncomfortable. As Christians we’re taught to be hopeful and optimistic, always looking on the “bright side” of situations. After all, we know Jesus, so cheer up!
The problem is that much of the Bible contains a very different tone – of anger, despair, deep sadness, and crying out to God. Particularly in the Old Testament, several books are primarily focused on the author’s deep feelings and emotions that are not always positive. Lament is a word used to describe many of these books, including, of course, Lamentations, many of the Psalms, and parts of Job. A lament is a prayer, expressing sorrow, pain, or confusion. That is certainly true of Job’s story.
In Job 10:1 we read Job crying out to God, “I loathe my very life; therefore I will give free rein to my complaint and speak out in the bitterness of my soul.” These are not cheery words, nor does Job resolve this tension in his prayers to God for some time. It’s almost as if he feels very comfortable in the uncomfortableness. He has no problem pouring out his heart to God.
Yet all throughout the book of Job, there is a willingness to admit that God’s plans are greater and his ways are higher than Job can fathom. Is he tired, angry, bitter, and in despair? Yes. But Job is lifted up as a biblical hero not because he didn’t struggle and suffer, but rather because of his unbridled trust that God could handle whatever he needed to say, and in his doubts still discovered the goodness of God.
What if some situations were not meant to be resolved right away? What if our biggest learning from Job’s story is not that “God will never give you more than you can handle,” but rather that life gives us way more than we can handle and that’s why we’re desperate for God? Could God have deeper goals for us than ease and comfort?
Questions for reflection:
- Have you ever prayed a prayer of lament? Does that idea come naturally to you, or is it uncomfortable? Why or why not?
- Why do you think books like Job and Lamentations are included in Scripture? What is God trying to show us about following him?