God of lamentors

“The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek Him shall praise the Lord! May your hearts live forever!” Psalms‬ ‭22:26‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Once again, another financial institution has lowered my credit limit due to the missed mortgage payment from back in September. That indiscretion if you may, caused my credit score to drop by nearly 60 points.

As I dialogued with my special friend, the email came in and boy did this news hit deep within my core.

“Not again,” I said out loud. Lord, when will this season end. When will we be able to bounce back from these storms that have been blowing our way. Whew! Sometimes it seems as though every week there is a new challenge. Last week I remember telling a girlfriend that I felt as though I was walking on a thin string. Then Thursday happened. The Lord gave me back my bearings and then….today’s email.

The Hurst family at 443 Parkview have been really hit with a series of challenges that have set us back financially….BIG TIME. I’ve never been in this stage in my life…EVER.

As I shared how I was feeling my friend listened. He allowed me to pour out my frustration and never once interjected to “pacify” how I felt. As I released the turmoil I felt, the Lord used His silence to remind me of what He has been teaching me of lamenting (expressing regret or disappointment over something considered unsatisfactory, unreasonable, or unfair) over the past few days.

Here goes:

1. When someone is lamenting/venting, let them
2. Do not attempt to pour into them when they are releasing what is frustrating them
3. Listen, patiently and listen well
4. Pouring into someone who is still lamenting will not allow the point to be received well, at all.
5. In fact, two things happens when we attempt the above: what we are pouring in ends up being poured back out and thus no positive effect takes place AND, what they are trying to get rid of ends up being swallowed back because there was no passageway to have it released.
6. Allowing an individual a safe place to lament allows them to empty their pitcher so that we can see the full picture.
7. Allowing an individual the opportunity to lament empties their pitcher so that through God, we may pour back into that space that has now been made open.

I like to think of ABBA doing the same thing when we come to Him in times of frustration. After we have poured out our hearts to Him something shifts. The Holy Spirit carries away the frustration (many times the problems remain, just our perspective shifts), and replaces that space with His peace.

Abba listens, especially when we come to Him crying. “When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.” Psalms‬ ‭34:17‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Think of the Psalms. Many times David went to ABBA and poured out his gripes, his angst and his annoyances and then….then we see a shift taking place. The tone changes and we see David using the words or phrases: Yet I will praise, Inspite of this I will say, But I will trust in You, Though this or that I chose to….

The Lord welcomes our laments to Him. In fact, I’d like to think that He takes delight when we crawl up on His lap and say, “Daddy, that bully did such and such to me.” Whew, what an imagery. The comfort doesn’t just end there though, unlike my special friend who was able to only listen empathetically, ABBA listens and many times, He does something to those bullies. All the time though, every single time, He listens and offers strength to our feeble hearts.

HALLELUJAH!!!

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord ‘s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion— to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.” Isaiah‬ ‭61:1-3‬ ‭ESV‬‬

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Until next time remember, His Promises are our Guarantee…🙌🏽