A Lament for Our Children Part Two
O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear to do justice to the fatherless and oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.
Psalm 10:17-18
Lament: a passionate expression of grief or sorrow; a song, piece of music, or poem expressing sorrow.
Lament is an expression found in many cultures across the world. What makes biblical lament different from all others, however, is that its goal is not merely complaint and grief, but a reinstatement of faith in God.
A complaint, a sorrow, a rending, that ends in trust.
The One who created our emotions, minds, and souls knows that for us to truly trust, we must empty the painful contents of our hearts in a safe place. Justice demands we be heard. From the deepest, darkest caverns of our souls, we need to be seen.
If we are heard, if we are seen, then perhaps we can consider trust.
Lament is a tool of sight and hearing. When we engage in biblical lament, we see our own hearts more clearly; we grow in awareness that God sees and hears us.
In A Lament for Our Children Part One, we gathered in lament on behalf of children today who are drowning in an epidemic of depression and suicidal ideations.
Today, we beat our breasts and tear our garments, sit in ashes, and mourn for the loss of children at the hands of children in the latest school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, USA.
Governments rage and peoples roar in pain and conflict about what must be done. How justice can be served for the ones who are no more. Mothers and fathers, grandmothers, siblings, husbands, sit paralyzed in grief.
But this battle is much bigger than states and nations, associations, and laws.
This battle for the lives of our children is a spiritual war.
There was another senseless killing of children that centered on a little refugee boy who escaped to Egypt. We find His story in Matthew 2.
The small and mighty Jesus-child posed a threat to King Herod’s power. Herod schemed and plotted to find Jesus and destroy him. When his efforts failed, in a rage, he demanded the murder of all male children in Bethlehem. It ripped the small community wide open with grief and loss.
Jesus poses a threat to the enemy yet today. He is ruthless, a murderer of children. He will use any means available to him. Even other children, children seeped in hatred and despair.
How can we respond to a war whose parameters so far outreach our abilities and power?
We can begin with lament.
It has been said that #lament is a cry of pain that leads to trust in God. We have been given a tool in such times as this, times when the horror of evil is so indescribable that we feel suffocated and cannot make sense of the world.… Click To TweetWe can cry out in our pain to God. On our knees, we can bring our complaints and agonize over tragedies that make no sense. We can wrestle with our God in the place of lament and demand of Him the justice He alone can deliver.
If this makes you uncomfortable, the idea of complaining to God, demanding from Him, read the 67 Psalms of lament and you will discover that even our strongest emotions cannot alienate us from the God who knows and loves us.
Lament is no act of rebellion or dishonor. Lament is a gift. A heated, intense conversation between the closest companions, One who possesses all power on heaven and earth to bring justice and peace to a grieving world.
Gather with others and lament for our children and our nations today. Click here for a template to guide you through the steps of lament.
A Lament for our Children based on Psalm 10
Why, O Lord, do you stand far away?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
In arrogance, the wicked hotly pursue our children and teachers
In the innocence of their classrooms.
The wicked boasts of his evil plans,
And he curses and renounces the Lord.
His thoughts are, “There is no God.”
He sits in ambush in our towns;
In their schools, he murders the innocent.
His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;
He lurks in ambush like a lion in a thicket.
The helpless are crushed, sink down, and fall by his might.
He says in his heart, “God has forgotten, he has hidden his face, he will never see it.”
Arise, O Lord, lift up your hand;
Forget not the afflicted!
Arise in anger and destroy the wicked!
Why does the wicked renounce God and say in his heart that you will not call him to justice?
Awake yourself for our children!
Appoint judgment in the halls of government;
Let the assemblies hear Your shout
Of justice and wisdom
Reigning over the thoughts and decisions of powerful men.
To you, the helpless commits himself;
You have been the helper of the fatherless,
The childless,
The motherless.
Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer;
Call his wickedness into account until it is no more.
Bring justice to the nations. Deliver us with your righteous right hand!
The Lord is king forever,
Over the riot of the nations,
As they roil in torment,
Arguing over what is just—
While children die.
O Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted!
Strengthen their hearts; incline your ear.
Do justice for those who mourn,
So that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.
I will wait for you,
My refuge.
-by Audrey Frank
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Resources on Lament:
Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy by Mark Vroegop
A Lament for Our Children Part One by Audrey Frank
When You Don’t Know What to Do, Lament by Audrey Frank
The Conversation
Thanks for the article. Indeed God looks after the maimed and the hurting. God can tirn situations around no matter how dark the woe is. We serve a God who is ompassionate and He will certaonly act for those who faced injustices.