We are pilgrims in a dry and thirsty land, daily journey toward the promises of God. God gave the Israelites, and us, the Psalms of Ascent to remind us that we are not on a vacation, but on a mission. This series of songs for the road reminded the singers that the road is difficult, the route can be dangerous, but God is with them and His loving kindness never fails. This week we will be challenged to “Lament the changes” (126), understand “God’s work is relational” (127), and “The Fear that produces Joy” (128).
Lament the Changes – Psalm 126
A quick read of Psalm 126 feels positive and joyful, and it really is a song about joy in the Lord. So why would I title this, “Lament the Changes”?
The Good Old Days
As I read through verses 1-2, I hear the psalmist say, “things are not the way they were.” Remember the good old days, remember when we were free, Jerusalem was prospering and we were full of joy? He is looking back at better times and implying that his current situation is not as good. It is lamentable.
Last year I was challenged to rethink my understanding of lament when I read Michael Cards book, “A Sacred Sorrow – Reaching Out to God in the Lost Language of Lament.” He unpacks the biblical understanding of lament from just mourning loss, but instead seeing it as truly a worshipful experience. He says,
“Laments, we must realize, are God’s Word…It is supreme honesty before a God whom my faith tells me I can trust. He encourages me to bring everything as an act of worship, my disappointment, frustration, and even my hate. Only lament uncovers this kind of new faith, a biblical faith that better understands God’s heart as it is revealed through Jesus Christ.”
A lament is taking our complaints to God, emptying ourselves of our complaints and then replacing the complaints with the truth of God’s Word. He also identifies how we have “two fundamental questions of complaint: God, where are you? (Presence) God, if you love me, then why? (loving kindness)”
As Christians, we need to understand the importance of lamenting in the proper way. We are not called to ignore or dismiss struggles and disappointments. Instead we are called to name them, to take them to God and identify them, so that God can do a healing work in our hearts.
Remember when we went to school, work, played sports, ate out at restaurants, gathered in our churches, and we didn’t seem to have a care in the world? We had it so good!
Or did we? A lament also allows us to reframe our memories. It brings clarity to the past and our current situation and it gives hope for the future.
Take a moment now and consider the changes going on in your life. Think about how your life has changed in the last few weeks. What are the things that you are missing out on? What plans did you have for this spring that you cannot fulfill? What are you most disappointed about?
It’s okay to acknowledge the hurt and pain of frustrated plans, of disappointments, of missing out on good things. I hear the pain and sorrow in the voices of students I talk to who are missing out on key events of their Senior Year of High School and College. Canceled Proms, athletics, graduations and grad parties.
It is hard to be separated from friends and family. It is hard to have athletic seasons canceled. It is hard to have dramas and musicals canceled. It is hard to have band performances canceled. Let’s all acknowledge together that there are a lot of very difficult and hard things going on all around us. Name it, identify it and reveal it to the Lord.
The Loving Kindness of God
But don’t stay in the complaint. Don’t just ask “where are you God?” and “Why would you let this happen to me?” Don’t just remember the way things were, remember the good things God has done for you (v 3).
In your lament, empty yourself of your complaints and then being to replace them with truth. Remind yourself of the basics of God’s goodness toward you. You’re alive, God granted you breath today. The sun still rises, the grass is growing and the seasons are still changing, a clear testimony that God is on the throne (Daniel 2:21).
Now notice how verse 3 transitions from “the great things the Lord has done for them,” to “The LORD has done great things for US; we are glad.”
Look at the personal nature of what God has done and is doing for you right now. Remember the truths of Christmas and Easter, that God entered into our space as a babe and lived a ordinary human life, yet without sin. That he went to the cross to be the perfect sacrifice for our sins, he was buried and rose again the third day.
A Christian’s reflection on the life and resurrection of our Lord should always bring us back to a place of gladness. How could we not be joyful knowing that He is Risen! He has overcome the grave and He promises to give us victory in this life!
“Dear God, Do it Again”
In remembering what God did for his people in the past, he petitions God to once again restore his people. He transitions his lament from complaint, to truth and now to a request. God restore the hearts of our people, turn our sorrows into joys.
In this brief verse he recalls a time when the people were enslaved and set free. Now, in his lament he sees the people enslaved in a different way and desires freedom from their captivity again.
In the language of lament it is good to give our complaint to God, to reorder our thinking by remembering the truths about God, and now to make our hearts request known to Him.
We pray for health and safety to return to our land. We pray for the coronavirus to be conquered. We pray for our grandparents, our parents, our families and friends to be safe in this season. We pray for the days where life can return to normal.
And yet, we should also pray that life doesn’t return to normal. That God would set us free from the bondages of sin and the distractions that we used to be a part of. That when He restores our land, that He gives us the strength to establish new rhythms that honor Him. We will talk more about this in Psalm 127.
The Return of Joy
As Christians, we walk by faith through the dry and weary land. It is on this journey that the promises of God give us hope and strength. The chapter closes with verses 5 and 6, promises that joy will return to the faithful. God acknowledges that there will be difficult times, but the believer will reap shouts of joy.
“Joy is not a requirement of Christian discipleship, it is a consequence. It is not what we have to acquire in order to experience life in Christ; it is what comes to us when we are walking in the way of faith and obedience.” – Eugene Peterson
When we empty ourselves of our complaints, remember God’s loving kindness toward us, and take our requests to God, we will experience the joy in the presence of God. The picture the psalmist gives us is that of a farmer sowing and reaping. The tears of lament are the seeds, and joy is the harvest.
Dear Christian, keep the faith. Learn the language of lament. Don’t just try to suppress your struggles, acknowledge them before God. Take your complaints to God, He is big enough to handle them. Recognize that things are not as they were, but God is still good and He is still working all around you. He will restore your joy and your hope as you seek Him through lament.
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