Tell him what?

By Kason Dietz

Scripture Text: 

“See, Lord, how distressed I am!

I am in torment within,

and in my heart I am disturbed,

for I have been most rebellious.

Outside, the sword bereaves;

inside, there is only death.

21“People have heard my groaning,

but there is no one to comfort me.

All my enemies have heard of my distress;

they rejoice at what you have done.

May you bring the day you have announced

so they may become like me.

22“Let all their wickedness come before you;

deal with them

as you have dealt with me

because of all my sins.

My groans are many

and my heart is faint.”

Devotional:

This doesn’t seem like a very inspiring passage of scripture to write a devotional about, does it? 

It might seem confusing at first glance, but there is huge significance to this passage, and the entire book of Lamentations. If you don’t understand the context and the significance, we might just think this is a passage of someone complaining about their life or circumstances. However, the context is that it is a book of poems that was written about the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians. It’s assumed that these five poems were written by the Prophet Jeremiah, and he is understandably heartbroken about God’s judgment falling on the people of Israel. These poems are a Lament. They are a cry from a broken heart. 

When I was growing up, I had a pretty big misconception about God. I thought that if I was going to be a good follower of Christ, then I had to be happy all the time. I thought that God didn’t want to hear my complaining, he didn’t want to listen to me telling him what was “wrong” to me. 

To some people, it seems crazy to write something like this because we believe God to be a cold-hearted, distant, and aloof entity instead of a loving father.   For many of us who have lived with a distorted idea of God, the notion that we can tell him about what hurts seems like a foreign concept. The Book of Lamentations helps us to understand something significant; God cares about what hurts your heart. I believe that God goes a step further to tell us that he cares about what hurts us, even when we deserve the hurt. 

The conquering of Jerusalem was because Israel had been sinful and had repeatedly followed their own way and followed other false gods. They deserve what they got, but God listened to the lament of Jeremiah and has used this book to bring truth to us today in 2024. That truth is that it is ok to tell God the things we think he doesn’t want to hear. 

In fact, we need to make room in our hearts, minds, and even our theology for Lament. 

God can handle your hurt. He can handle your anger. He can handle your problems. He can handle your grief. He can handle your sorrow. He can handle your Lament. The truth is that we can’t have a real relationship with God if we are holding things back from Him and not showing him the darker parts of our hearts. 

Maybe it's time for you to practice lamenting. 

Response/Prayer: 

Today, practice telling God about what’s hurting you. Let him in on what you’re upset about. Think of one thing you’ve maybe been apprehensive about saying to him and say it. That’s how real relationships are built.