You will forget the shame of your youth and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1997), 4:879. And that is exactly what John said he wants to be. This is my gospel, for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. I was sure by now God, You would have reached down And wiped our tears away Stepped in and saved the day But once again, I say "Amen," and it's still raining. He asks us to praise Him for our benefit. As we follow the pattern set out in the psalms of lament, we learn that we can boldly bring all of our troubles before the Lord who will hear us, intervene for us, and give us the hope that we will praise him again in this world and be freed from trouble in the next. It is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. Psalms of lament make it clear that pain and difficulties come from many sources. “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt 11:28). What’s the first thing that comes to mind? You may not have the song to sing, or even the voice to sing. If you are brokenhearted today, you have great reason to praise God. Why would God place such an emphasis on lament in the Bible? God has given us everything we need in Christ Jesus. How to Praise God When Life is Falling Apart. My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life. God’s perceived failure to help prompts them to ask the questions “Why?” and “How long?” “Why, O Lord, do you stand afar off? [14] Shevuot 15b; Rambam, Hilchot Avodat Kochavim 11:12. Romans 5:1-5 Many of the writing prophets were caught up in the sin of their people to the extent that they were carried off into exile, or, in the case of Jeremiah, to Egypt. The Bible nowhere disguises the reality that life can be difficult. The more you depend on him and sense his support, the more you will want to give thanks. One of God's goals for you is to make you totally dependent on him. Isaiah 54:4-5 But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you (emphasis mine). An American, he has previously served in Taiwan as a church planter and theological educator, taught Old Testament at Singapore Bible College where he also directed the Ichthus Centre for Biblical and Theological Research, and served as pastor at the Belfast Chinese Christian Church. Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?” My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me, saying to me all day long, “Where is your God?” Why are you downcast, O my soul? It can help us come to a new perspective about sin and the hope we have that Christ has sufficiently dealt with it on the cross. They knew what it is to rejoice and they knew what it is to grieve. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. As he hung on the cross Jesus cried out to the Father, not with praise, but with words drawn from one of the lament psalms: “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? 7 Benefits of Praising God in Hard Times 1) God Will Fight For You. Strangely, this sidelining of the hurting is similarly present in many modern funerals which have replaced ministry to the grieving and proclaiming the gospel message that death has been overcome in Jesus Christ with a simple recounting of what made the deceased special. The weary, the burdened, the abused, the ignored, the unemployed, all need Jesus and all can be strengthened by praying the psalms of lament and searching for God’s hope that is an integral part of the prayers. At times it seems that he has hidden his face (Pss 13:1; 44:24) or fallen asleep (Ps 44:23). If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. If one of these psalms was read and commented on during confession, the congregation could more intelligently adopt the words of the lament while bringing their needs to God. How can we worship God in and through our suffering? "Praise the LORD, all you servants of the LORD who minister by night in the house of the LORD. 13) Psalm 63:3-4 (NIV) Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. Hannah’s inability to bear a child, compounded by the provocation of her rival, prompted her to cry out to God that he might give her a son. Look upon my suffering and deliver me, for I have not forgotten your law. Though you may have read the psalms in the midst of other trials in the past, perhaps it’s time for a fresh look at how they can serve as a source of hope and comfort for illness. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. [12] Allen Verhey, Reading the Bible in the Strange World of Medicine (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003), 123. However, if you choose to trust God to bring about His purposes through the suffering, you can avoid the trap of bitterness and grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord. 1 Peter 1:6-7 For the last three years, I didn’t have enough sleep and rest everyday. We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. "From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to … [10] Claus Westermann, Praise and Lament in the Psalms (Atlanta: John Knox, 1981), 177. I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. It is therefore essential that we never consider lament psalms to be magical formulas that ensure praise will immediately fill the lives of those who pray them. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. Although the words used in these prayers are often taken from the New Testament, they reflect themes that reverberate throughout the psalms but are most closely related to the seven psalms of penitence which have been recognized from the early Christian centuries—Psalms 6; 32; 38; 51; 102; 130; and 143. All this will enable you, in a special way, to be able to minister to others. Learned in public worship, these words from the Bible can be taken home so that a person can address God again when praying for oneself or someone else. While psalms of lament should be used when praying for the sick, to limit them to that function implies that those suffering from other problems are less significant. Psalm 22:24 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NIV Throughout our lives, we all… Do you want to know where God is when you are suffering? He offers us friendship. You are to rejoice when you share in the sufferings of Christ. That both testaments frequently acknowledge that people face pain and distress[1] and that they bring them before God through prayer in open worship contrasts greatly with the way many Christians face it today. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. OMF International has a network of websites across the world. Modern Christians who are burdened by sin can similarly employ this ancient biblical pattern. Is there one thing you can choose to praise God for during the pain you’re in? Psalm 150:3–6 emphasize that we should praise the Lord with instruments and dance, and that everything with breath should praise God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. My heart rejoices in reverent praise to You my God, and my grateful thanks will resound throughout eternity. But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? *** Verses 14-16: “If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. Or maybe you’re filled with fear and doubting God’s goodness. Not even Jesus was preserved from life’s pressures and trials. 2 Timothy 2:8-10 But God’s word is not chained. 10 Prayers of Praise to God. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. This is another reason to praise … At its most basic, worship—as it is developed in the Bible—consists of bowing down before God in submission to his will, fearing him for his majesty and power, and serving him in our daily lives whether by specific acts of worship or by simply doing that which pleases God. If you want to be made completely whole so that you learn to live daily in harmony with God, then practice offering the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving to God. Psalm 119:107 Though chosen by God, Abraham and Sarah lived a nomadic existence and felt the pain and shame of not being able to bear a son until old age. It is our way of entreating him for mercy in times of difficulty. If I am honest with myself, it is much harder for me to thank and praise God when I … Students simply said, \"I can believe that,\" and added it on to what they were already committed to. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matt 27:46; Mark 15:34; cf. [13] Of these, Psalm 32 is usually categorized as a psalm of thanksgiving rather than a psalm of lament. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. Not only do they provide the suffering with words to express their feelings and fears to God in faith, they also point them to the hope that God will hear their prayer, intervene for them, and give them reason to praise his name again. 2 Corinthians 1:7-9 The closest that most of us have to experiencing relief from grief or pain through lament comes through praying prayers of confession and absolution. [3] Or it may spring from a misplaced conviction that followers of Jesus should experience no problems in life. This will help us turn to praise and glorify God better. When you stop worrying and trying to fix it all on your own, you allow the space for God to step in. Broyles, “Lament,” 389. Services of lament are particularly needful when it becomes impossible to take part in a service of praise that contradicts personal and corporate feelings and experience. Posted At such times, bringing heartache and confusion to God may be the only thing that makes worship possible. The Bible offers much guidance in lifting prayers of praise to God. If you ask most people, they will tell you it is easy for them to thank God when things are going well, but it’s not so easy to praise God when life throws them a curveball. Yet when I hoped for good, evil came; when I looked for light, then came darkness. His son Cain, after killing his brother Abel, was driven from the land and forced to wander from place to place as the ground refused to yield its crops to him. The psalms of lament—particularly the communal laments—also benefit worshippers by showing them that the psalmists could feel that God was absent. 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