Lamenting

  One observation I have made is this, and it is that the prophets of the Old Testament are not for the faint of heart nor do you get the warm fuzzes from reading them.  There more in tuned with being Gods messenger to the nation of Israel in times of destruction and often provide a warning to people of what will happen if things won't change.  They are more concerned with the message and life change, and not being liked or followed by scores of people.  I think this what our culture has dubbed "real talk."  Real talk cares not so much about feelings, but about the message.  As Christians, we should be concerned with real talk, and more importantly, are we doing it out of love, with grace and humility, and aiming that it leads to life change.  In essence, real talk, the messenger gets out of the way, and provides the message that God has given to them.  One prophet that provides a lot of real talk is the prophet Jeremiah in the book of Lamentations.  What inspired this post is the book Prophetic Lamentations by Soong-Chan Rah.  The book came out of a several week preaching series on the book of Lamentations at a church he was a pastor at. 

   Here is a brief synopsis on the book of Lamentations.  The city of Jerusalem is in ruins cause Babylon came and torched the city, and hauled off all of the promising talent, while leaving everyone else in the midst of chaos and despair.  People were left for dead and the Temple, which was a place of worship and even national identity for the nation of Israel was no more because it was torched.  The state of  Jerusalem at that time is every country song/end of the world/zombie move x10.in the midst of the chaos, destruction, and hopelessness, the book of Lamentations teaches us what it means to really lament and that there can be hope in the mist of our despair.  You know things are bad when Jeremiah walks around Jerusalem in his naked proclaiming Gods message.  Maybe he felt that he wasn't being heard or desperate times calls for desperate measures.

  The first observation about true lamenting is that lamenting is being brutally honest with ourselves, others and God.  How often do we sugar coat things to make them better than what they really are.  The flip side of that is how often do we make mountains out of mole hills.  True lamenting is taking a look at the situation and admitting that the marriage is over, that the relationship is beyond repair, we are never going to have our dream job.  True lamenting is grieving those things, but also moving on.  It is living within those consequences and moving forward.  It is not letting a certain person or situation handicap us.  True lamenting also takes stock in how our actions contributed to where we are at.  Not only does lamenting take a look at our actions, but it also takes a look at are attitudes, intentions, talents, or the lack there of and seeing how they all played apart to where we are at.  Tue lamenting is taking a look at all things and coming up with a plan to fix things when possible, and to grow and mature from this.
    This also means we are completely honest with God.  When I think of true lamenting, sometimes I think it is giving God the preverbal finger and being totally angry/frustrated/lost with God.  Its admitting to not knowing what is going on and that we are extremely angry.  Where true lamenting comes in, is when we learn to be quiet and listen to God.  Just like Job we demand our day in court with God, but we also have to embrace Gods response to us because where were we when He created the heavens and the earth.  I find that a lot of my frustration with God comes from my own stupidity and sinful actions, thoughts and intentions.

  The second observation about lamenting is the idea that we put false hope away.  One of the more popular sayings among Christians is that it may be Friday, but Sunday is coming.  It is referencing Easter and the resurrection.  Having this thinking often minimizes the pain, struggle and sin that has taken place.  There are times where we need to be comfortable with living in the Easter Saturday.  I did an internship with the spiritual care team at a Catholic hospital and I went to the Good Friday service held in the chapel.  The box where the wafers are kept for commune is closed up when not in use, until Good Friday, where the wafers are removed and the box is left open.  This spoke volumes to me  because it signified that God was dead and any hope that we have when the way of Elvis and left the building.  How often in our lamenting do we thing that God either abandoned us, doesn't care, or just all out died.  This is a hard place to be in and we have all been there.  True lamenting allows us to be honest with our emotions and to fully take stock in what is going on.  We have a choice to either keep on keeping on, or just walk away from it all.  When we keep on keeping on, God will reach down and reveal Himself to us and we just have to look for it.  

  Here is a little rabbit trail on the idea of false hopes.  We often think that God will come down and make everything better when we cry out to Him.  This leads to one of the Bibles most quoted verses, which is Jeremiah 29:11, which the prophet tells us that God has a plan and that is a good plan, and that He has our best interest in mind.  What people tend to forget is the context to that verse.  Israel is still stuck in captivity and that God told to build houses, plant gardens and marry their children, because they were going to be there for awhile.  God isn't always going to be our white knight and come riding in to save us out of our every mess that we are in.  There are times where we have to live with those consequences that we brought upon ourselves.  

  The third observation about lamenting that I pick up on is this idea of Gods mercy.  I find it really interesting that in the middle of the book, Jeremiah proclaims Gods goodness and that His mercy is new every day.  Jeremiah also reminds us that God will never leave us, and that He is our rock.  True lamenting is realizing that God is still God and that He still loves and cares for us.  Tue lamenting is a realization that God punishes those whom He loves and calls His own.  The other aspect of it is that we live in a fallen world and that others peoples actions will have consequences on our personal lives and there are time those consequences are not good.  God will come in and rectify those wrongs and give everyone what they deserve.  As it is said, vengeance belongs to God and not us

The fourth observation of lamenting is that there is a community side to it.  We can all point out the sins of others and the downfall of different groups and generations, but it is really hard to figure out our own issues whether personally or as a group.  True lamenting means that we can come together as a church (local, national or universal), or as a nation and do some introspecting.  It is realizing where have fallen short, seeking the forgiveness of God and others.  One of the underlying principles to lament is humility.  It is taking the honest look at ourselves and not only realizing where we need to improve or ask for help, but it is also doing it.  When we truly lament we don't see people as second class citizens, but as people who are worth more than millions because they are created in the very image of the God of the universe

  The fifth observation is a short one, but a good one and that is lament can and should be used as a form of worship.  If you were to read through the Psalms, lamenting is a very big part of the songs and hymns of this book.  Putting our sorrow or life circumstances to song often helps us deal with them and to realize that no matter what we go through, our worship is reorienting ourselves and putting God back on His throne.  It is also reminding ourselves and to the world that God loves and cares for us more than we can imagine. 

Livin on a Prayer

One of my favorite styles of music is hair band music, such as Guns N Roses to Bon Jovi, or even Scorpion. I am amazed that these bands have stood the test of time (or at least my time) and that parents and their adult children can still go to these concerts and sing along at the top of their lungs. One of the more popular hair songs out there is Livin on a Prayer by Bon Jovi. The crux of the song is a guy and his girlfriend are working two jobs, barely making ends meet and that they are actually living on prayer. As I heard this song again it hit me, this is a song of desperation and the people in the song have no where else to turn. 

The first prayer I see in Scripture is a prayer of  desperation. We are at the end of our rope with either a particular situation, or life in general, and we cry out to God. The Psalm is filled with desperation prayer. Whether it is King David or any of the other authors, they are pleading out to God in times of need. Whether it is for protection, or to kill an enemy, these are true prayers of desperation. Psalm 55 is a good example of this. How often in our own desperation, do we beg, plead, or even bargain with God to hear our pleas. My only problem with the desperation prayer is that we turn to God when we that is our only option left. If God is our last option, is He really the Lord of our life and do we really trust Him as much as we say we do. Turning to God should be our first and only option and not our last, because when He is our last, things are messy and there is more damage done than needed.

Another form of prayer is a lamenting prayer. I affectionately call this prayer the screw you God, you don’t know what you are doing or what is going on prayer. Essentially we are telling God He is number one and we are dropping the mic and walking away. The prophets of the Old Testament are filled with this style of prayers. The last several chapters of the book of Job deals with Job lamenting to God and God responding back to Job. There is even a whole book of lamenting and its called Lamentations. The prophet Jeremiah is lamenting to God about the nation of Israel’s disobedience, and the destruction that the city of Jerusalem is in. Here is the thing about lamenting prayers and lamenting in general, whether to God, or other people, we may feel better for a moment, but after our outburst, will the same frustrations return and does the situation change. True lamenting is taking a look at the situation and finding ways where we can either change it, or that we can change ourselves to make the situation better. This is hard work, but it is the only way things will get done. As the prophet Jeremiah writes, Great is Gods faithfulness and His mercies are new every morning. Anything else is that we are whining and playing the victim card.

A third form prayer is one of remembrance. This can also be called a prayer of thanksgiving. This is usually done a lot around Thanksgiving and Christmas. It is where we remember God’s faithfulness to us and how He has provided for His people. A prayer of remembrance is more than just remembering the good things, but also the struggles and the growth that has taken place in our lives. This prayer calls us to look back at what God has done, giving thanks and living life differently because of what God has done for us. Remembering the good things that God has done for us and not living differently causes us to miss out on other great gifts and it often leads us stunted spiritually, and emotionally. It is like that one person you meet up with at your 20^th high school reunion and they still haven’t left high school.

The fourth form of prayer is one of forgiveness. This is when we realize our own humanity and sin in our life and we go to God to seek His grace. This prayer is more than saying "My Bad" God or any other half hearted apology. A true prayer of repentance is one that aims to not only restore ones relationship with God and others, but to make sure that it does not happen again. As David writes in Psalm 51, Create in me a clean heart O God, and renew a right spirit with in me. This form of prayer is seeking Gods forgiveness and power so that He can change our character. If our character doesn’t change, we will keep ending up in the same situations.

The fifth and final prayer we will mention today is the payer of healing. Even though all the prayers can and should be done as an individual and as a group, this prayer leans heavily on the group of believers. The book of James urges anyone who is sick to come to the church to be anointed with oil and prayed for by the church. This is a realization that God is the ultimate healer and the church is coming together in agreement on this. It is asking God to do what only He can do in the only way He can do it whether it is through divine intervention or through the medical community.

Now there are other forms of prayer and there are all ways to communicate with God and to have a relationship with Him. To paraphrase a C.S. Lewis puts it, "Prayer is not so we can change the mind of God, but so we can be changed by God."  Maybe we shouldn't be a people who are livin on a prayer but livin on many prayers