Our Eyes Are On You

A dear friend of mine found out her daughter was living with a brain tumor. That explained the massive headaches, vomiting, and dizziness she was experiencing, but it didn’t explain why or how this happened to a nine-year-old child. The family was grieved to hear the news and did not understand what had caused this. They did everything they could to heal their daughter and she fought hard, but it wasn’t enough. The sweet girl lost her life to the tumor. Why do these things happen?

We may never understand why the child lost her life so early, but there are things we can be sure of. We were made to experience feelings. Feelings of grief, sadness, anger, joy, and excitement. The Bible tells us in John 11 that even Jesus felt sorrow that brought Him to tears. How are we supposed to handle these feelings? We feel confused and lost when we have an overwhelming pulse of emotion. Do we give into our feelings and express them, or do we hold them back and suppress them?

There are many scriptures in the Bible that give examples on how to express our feelings of lament. To lament is to express deep sorrow, grief, or sadness. We can lament through our actions or through our speech. Lamenting is so common in our world, there is even an entire book in the Bible based on it, Lamentations. As everything else, God gives us instruction on how to lament in a way that brings us closer to Him.

Jesus gives us the perfect example in Mark 14:36. He knows the time has come for Him to suffer on the cross. Don’t you imagine He was feeling scared of the pain, hurt from the deception, and deep sorrow for his friends. He says, “Abba, Father, everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” The first thing He does is turn to God. He acknowledges God’s sovereignty. His grief is complaining about what is to come. Then He asks boldly for God to remove the responsibility that is placed in front of Him. But He then says for God’s will to be done, not His own. He knows that He must follow through with God’s will even though it may be extremely difficult. He knows God’s will is best in the long run. Jesus knows that following through with God’s will will lead to great things. His earthly feelings were worldly, but His obedience was godly.

Read Psalm 77. It is another perfect example of lamenting. In verses 1-3 we see the psalmist turning to the Lord even in his pain. In verses 3-6, we see the psalmist’s complaints about his circumstance. He lays it all out on the table for God to hear. Then verses 7-9 begin the questions, “Has God forgotten to be merciful?” Asking God questions is alright. When we do this we are being honest with Him. Honesty always brings us closer to God. We need to ask boldly, don’t hold back; God can handle our questions and requests. Finally, in our lament, we choose to then turn around and praise God for the good He has done and most of all choose to trust in what He will do. What God will do is the hope we stand on.

Look at Psalm 73. See if you can list out the cycle of the psalmist’s lament.

It is important that our lament always brings us to a place of praise and trust. If we stay in the complaint and questioning phase, we will not grow closer to the Lord. In 2 Chronicles 20, King Jehoshaphat stood up in front of his entire army and lamented because mighty armies were rising up all around them and he was at a loss of what to do next. He stood up in front of his army and led them into a national lament session. He asked God, “Are you not the God who is in heaven?…Did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend?…Will you not judge them?” Then he said aloud so his entire army could hear, “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you.” He brought his army to a place of trust; trust in the One true God that will deliver them from the destructive armies.

What are you lamenting today? Have you come to a place of praise and trust in your lament? Trust in God is what carries us so that we can move on. If it wasn’t for our trust in God, we would be people that stood dead in our tracks; there would be no reason to act and pull through our circumstances.

I see my friend each week and she is sad that her daughter is gone from this earth, and she misses her deeply. But she now talks about the peace her daughter is experiencing. Her daughter exhibited peace before her death, knowing that she was going to be with Jesus. Her daughter talked about Jesus constantly the days before she met Him face to face. That has brought my friend to a place of praising and trusting that God has a reason and a plan for all things. She may not fully understand right now, but one day she will see God’s glory in full and will understand His ways that are higher than our own.

Digging Deeper:

When you have experienced lamenting in your life?

How did you handle the situation?

What have you learned about lament that you can take with you in the future?