Lamenting Love

Why, O Lord, do You stand far off? Why do You hide Yourself in times of trouble? In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak, who are caught in the schemes he devises. He boasts of the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the Lord. In his pride the wicked does not seek Him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God. His ways are always prosperous; he is haughty and Your laws are far from him; he sneers at all his enemies… Arise, Lord! Lift up Your hand, O God. Do not forget the helpless. Why does the wicked man revile God? Why does he say to himself, "He won't call me to account"?

 

Psalm 10:1-13

 

 

Have you ever taken those personality assessments—those multiple choice tests—that summarize your life with a few key words… to be honest, do you really know what all that means?

 

All in all, the test is helpful and is accurate, for the most part. But it just seems that there can be a lot it left out—it didn't really say much about the real you.

 

When it comes to our concepts of love, there is much we leave out. Common associations with the word love are relationship, romance, and sex. We don't hear associations like pain and lament.

 

Until we read the Psalms.

 

Many of David's psalms are the journal of a man pouring out his love for his God—often it is brutally honest heart (Psalm10:1).

 

Lament is the ancient practice of recognizing the brokenness of the soul and then mustering the courage to embrace it before God. Lament is an act of love—recognizing that in order to truly love, one must be truly honest. Denial is simply a way of hiding and love does not hide, not even those parts of us that are ugly and sick, not even the words that are hard to say—and even harder to hear.

 

David knew that if he wanted his love affair with God to be true, he had to be honest about his anger with God, his accusations, his confusion with God's perplexing ways. Added to his expressions of gratitude and ecstasy, David knew that an authentic love must, at times, lament.

 

It is a way of honoring God, of taking Him seriously.

 

It is, as Eugene Peterson says, a way of "making the most of our loss without getting bogged down in it—[it] is a primary way of staying in the story. God is telling the story, remember… He doesn't look kindly on our editorial deletions."

 

Love is romance and hope and passion—it is honest lament.

 

Bare your soul to God—He truly loves you.