In times of trial, should believers cling to the promises of God and fight all the harder? Or should they allow their souls to rest, trusting that God is fighting for them?
Yes, and yes.
It seems there are two camps within Christianity when it comes to dealing with hard times.
On the one hand, there’s the faith response. When hardship comes, faith-oriented people say, we should hold fast to God’s promises.
We have an enemy, they remind us. We need to actively war against him. And we are destined to be victorious if we exercise our faith muscles in light of what God’s word says.
Then there’s the folks that struggle with the idea that God has promised us carte blanche to answer all our prayers.
They feel uncomfortable viewing God as some kind of magic genie in a bottle, obligated to grant us our wishes if only we rub the bottle hard enough.
If you’re anything like me, you don’t want to throw out the proverbial baby with the bathwater. You want to hold on to faith, but a question forms in your soul as you wrestle with hardship.
Are faith declarations and spiritual warfare the only proper response to suffering?
I don’t believe so.
I read a Psalm pretty much every day. Again and again, I see the whole gamut of human emotions expressed to a sovereign God. Yes, it’s ultimately about praising him … but as we ascend toward that praise, we need to remember something very important.
Our souls need permission to express lament, too.
Recently, I was working on taking a particular thought captive when I realized that I felt really fragile. I decided to put aside my spiritual work-out routine and have a little talk with my soul.
Rather than give myself a faith pep talk, I asked my soul, What’s troubling you? As I reflected, I realized I’d been facing new challenges, pushing through weariness, and feeling overwhelmed.
I felt small and vulnerable and close to tears. It wasn’t time for warfare.
It was time for lament.
Sometimes it’s best to stop pushing principles and go a little deeper. Sometimes we need to take our fragile hearts to God for comfort.
It’s good to put on the armor of God and fight the good fight, but it’s also good to crawl up on Abba’s lap and let the tears flow.
I’m reminded of the classic song by Twila Paris, “The Warrior is a Child.” True, that.
Faith, praise and lament are all legitimate expressions of human experience and emotion to God.
This may seem paradoxical, but it is not contradictory.
“It is good to grasp the one and not let go of the other. Whoever fears God will avoid all extremes.” Ecclesiastes 7: 18.
In the full expression of our hearts to God, we honor the rich complexity of life and the mystery of faith in God. We acknowledge that, while there are principles of faith, there are no formulas.
We embrace our limitations as human beings, and we trust anew as we receive comfort.
Maybe today, you need to ask, Why so downcast, oh my soul? Maybe you need to pour out a lament to God. Your heart’s cry for comfort is all part of having faith. You’ll be able to praise again soon.
Until then, may you find strength and mercy in your Father’s arms.
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I really like this, Susanne. I’ve done just that, climbed into Abba’s lap, so often! I refer often to crying out to God, quoting from my blog posts written during cancer treatment, in my book Brokenness to Beauty. What you described is exactly what I did. And God was always there and never failed to comfort me.
A friend just yesterday shared something someone wrote based on Psalm 42 and 43, one of which you quoted from above. It had to do with self-talk, which is what the psalmist was doing, telling himself to trust in God. We can do that too and encourage ourselves in the Lord. Thanks for a great post!
I would like to re-post it on my blog, with a link back to yours. Okay with you?
Absolutely, Jacqueline! I am honored. And you’re so right … our Father never fails to bring the comfort we need. I am enjoying Brokenness to Beauty, by the way!
Yes! Yes! Amen! And AMEN! Thank you for this word of truth. I needed this today!
Glad it was the ticket today, Clare!