Grieving Together
When you’re walking through something difficult, is it hard for you to reach out to others? For some of us, it feels easier to bear our burdens on our own, but God has given us his body, and the people of God in your local context can be such a beautiful means of grace in the midst of a dark season. Maybe you, your family, your church, or your community is walking through difficult circumstances. The beautiful thing about corporate lament is that we can bring our grief before God. We can cry out to him like the psalmist did, and we can lift our eyes like the psalmist did too. In the midst of our suffering, let’s follow the psalmists' example and remember—and call one another to remember—God’s good character.
In this week’s episode, we’re looking at the corporate lament psalms, which are those psalms where the writer is grieving on behalf of a people or nation, or writing songs that a community could use to grieve together. These psalms help us see how we can walk through difficult things alongside others, lean into the body of Christ in the midst of tragedy or trial, and know God more, even in that place. By his grace, God meets us deeply in our suffering, and as we walk through both the joys and the brokenness of this life we can even come to know him more—and we can do this together.
CORPORATE LAMENT PSALMS OVERVIEW
The corporate lament psalms are psalms where the writer is grieving on behalf of a people or nation, or writing songs that a community could use to grieve together. These psalms help us to see how we can walk through difficult things alongside others, how we can lean into the body of Christ in the midst of tragedy or trial, and how we can know God more, even in that place.
The truth is, regardless of the fact that you feel (and have a legitimate reason to feel) alone and abandoned, it is not so. You have not been abandoned by God, and you never will be.
In the midst of even the darkest and most devastating realities, God has promised to be near. The psalmist prayed to God, “Why do you hide your face, why do you forget our affliction?” But on this side of the cross, we know that God does not hide his face from us; in fact, we know that he hid his face from Christ in his affliction so that we might never be abandoned in the midst of our pain. We have the deepest comfort of the nearness of Christ in our difficulty.
One of the beautiful things we can experience in Christian community is reminding each other to look to God’s character in the midst of difficulty.
God’s faithfulness is not simply a quality that he possesses; it is woven into the very fabric of who he is (Ex. 34:6). God cannot stop being faithful any more than you can stop being human. His faithfulness is who he is, and he cannot deny himself. God is utterly dependable. He is the antithesis of everything fickle and fluctuating. He is constant. He never changes. He is faithful always, no matter the circumstances. In all things, he is holy and sovereign and good.
We see all throughout Scripture that God is faithful: faithful to keep his covenant promises (Deut. 7:9), faithful to forgive us and purify us from unrighteousness (1 John 1:9), faithful to give us strength to endure temptation (1 Cor. 10:13), faithful to sanctify and keep us (1 Thess. 5:23-24), faithful to provide unending compassion and loving kindness (Lam. 3:22-23), faithful to protect us from the evil one (2 Thess. 3:3), faithful to never forsake us (Deut. 31:6). God is faithful even when we are faithless (2 Tim. 2:13). We have no more reason to doubt his faithfulness than to doubt his very nature and being. His faithfulness is the very foundation of our faith and our hope.
As you muddle through the brokenness of the world, maybe you’ve wondered what the point of all this suffering is. But the Bible clearly shows us the character of God, proving that he is not cruel, unkind, or withholding, but that he is merciful, kind, holy, gracious, sovereign, pure, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness (Ex. 34:5-7, Ps. 119:68). Because we know who he is, we can know that everything he walks us through—whether good or bad—is done in love, and for our ultimate good.
We see in Scripture that suffering is promised to the believer (1 Peter 4:12-13). In fact, the Bible shows us we can have joy in our suffering (Neh. 8:10), because it points us to something better – our perfectly-secured and eternal hope (2 Cor. 4:17). Paul reminds us that suffering, by God’s grace, can grow in us endurance, perseverance, trust, and Christlikeness (Rom. 5:1,3-4).
We can know God deeply in our suffering—and we can do this together. When you feel like you’re drowning in your fight against your sin, may you see the Lord as worthy, holy, and sufficient to cover every one of your sins. Would you look to Jesus when you feel your sin and shame trying to creep back in. May you treasure Christ over every single thing in this world, and may you find victory and repentance from your sin as you look to him.
Friend, may you remember the unending goodness, faithfulness, and kindness of God. May you see his kindness to you, even as he walks you and those you love through suffering. May you join with the body of Christ to proclaim his character to one another, even when things are difficult. And may you look to Christ as your hope—both individually and together.
RESOURCES
In the Lord I Take Refuge: 150 Daily Devotions Through the Psalms
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Have you ever walked through suffering alongside someone else or invited someone into your own grief? How did it feel different from grieving alone?
Is there someone in your local church community who you know is suffering and needs someone to walk alongside them? Or if you are the one suffering, is there someone you could invite to help you bear your grief in a godly way?
What aspect of God’s character is most comforting to you when you are suffering? Is it his nearness? His goodness? His kindness? His steadfast love?
How does meditating on God’s faithfulness, even in the midst of difficulty, bring you hope?
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IMPORTANT NOTE
Journeywomen interviews are intended to serve as a springboard for continued study in the context of your local church. While we carefully select guests each week, interviews do not imply Journeywomen's endorsement of all writings and positions of the interviewee or any other resources mentioned.
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