Dr Paul Allen

Where do you go when the calamities of life feel too heavy? We’re all tempted to turn inward, but perhaps we would do better to open the Psalms of lament instead. Have you ever noticed that when calamity strikes, after the initial shock wears off, our first thought is often, “Why me?” Somehow, we’ve gotten it into our heads that God’s job is to make us happy and keep us happy. After all, he’s God, isn’t he? And doesn’t God know everything? Doesn’t he know that our present predicament isn’t very pleasant? Yes, he does. But what gave you the idea that the almighty Maker of heaven and earth is supposed to keep everything on an even keel? If you’ve read your Bible, you know that in the beginning, God created a good world; sin entered that world through one man, and death was the consequence. Now, like a deadly contagion, death has spread through all humankind, because all people sin (Romans 5:12). God’s pristine creation—with no suffering, no death, and no destruction—is now long gone. Thi...

Our loved ones will pass away at some point in time. We visit hospitals and cry. We pray and commit them to God . We bury loved ones - cry and lament. The Psalms of Lament Dictionaries define the word lament as "feeling or expressing sorrow or grief." It's not a word we use much these days. In fact, lamenting is an art that we don't often practice in Western culture . Rather than express our emotions, we tend to hide them, distract ourselves from feeling them, or even pretend they don't exist. When difficult circumstances cut into our lives, we are likely to seek out false saviors to rescue us. We bury ourselves in work, entertainment, or a pint of ice cream. We might even take things into our own hands and attempt to control our circumstances. We'll do anything but face the pain and heartache we feel. Yet, Scripture is filled with lament. Habakkuk lamented the coming judgment on Israel . The book of Lamentations is one long lament. Our Savior crie...