Category Archives: Lament

Trust, Anxiety, and Fear: take root in God.

Posted on March 21, 2011 by Andrea Graham| Comments Off

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream,and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green,and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.” (Jeremiah 17:7-8)

Let’s skip the guilt trip today. We all have room for improvement when it comes to trusting the Lord and probably most of us will continue to have times when we struggle there. So what is your heat, what is your drought? That is, what leaves you anxious and fearful? What dries up your world and heats up your air? Lost job? Health issues? Political battles? Wars and natural disasters halfway around the world?

How do we remain spiritually fruitful, continue to flourish in the Spirit, in times of trial and uncertainty? We lift up to God our fears, we lift up our anxiety, we recognize when we are merely afraid rather than speaking our fears as reality (as I am prone to). We confess them to God, and release those emotions to him, and then we determine to remember what he has done for us in the past, to remember what he has promised us in his word, remember what he has done for others in our circumstances and in the scriptures, and we determine to take our eyes off the drought and the heat and trust in the living water (per the stream imagery) of God-with-us, nourishing and feeding us with his own flesh and blood.

Lord, as the old hymn says, we pray, Jesus, Jesus, how I trust you, how you’ve proved yourself over and over. Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus, oh for grace to trust you more. (Note to my readers: changes to wording are deliberate.) Today, Lord, we are choosing and making the conscious decision to trust you and take you at your word no matter what our circumstances tell us, and we release to you any fear and doubt preventing us from meaning those words (name them here.) We thank you for your healing, we thank you for your cleansing. We thank you for being with us. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

Posted in Bible and Theology, Fear and Anxiety, Lament, Prayer and Devotions

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The Lord your Shepherd Restores your soul

Posted on March 17, 2011 by Andrea Graham| Comments Off

“ The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” (Psalm 23:1-3)

These words of comfort reach across ages. The promise is true today. Humble yourself under the Lord’s rod and His staff and trust and hear no other voice. You know his voice, for you are his, chosen out of the world, beautiful and precious in his eyes. If you are tired, wrung out, stressed out, discouraged, and/or afraid, allow him to lay you down in green pastures and beside still waters in His Spirit today. Take time out of your busy schedule to throw yourself into the Shepherd’s arms, awaiting his promise of restoration.  Whatever time it takes to work through it will be time well invested.

However, before he can restore us, we must first both stop listening and believing the lies of fear and doubt and hate and any other wicked voice that may be oppressing us today. Let him reveal your heart to you today and pour it out before him. Let us not forget, it is for His name’s sake that He leads us. He loves us unconditionally, no matter our failures or mistakes, especially in regard to earthly things.

Lord, forgive us for the lies we have believed. Let us no longer give the enemy a foothold. Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts. Help us to identify fears as for what they are and eradicate any negative, self-defeating ways of thinking today. We ask you to restore our souls today, Father, and we thank you, that even if our human fathers actually were evil enough to give us snakes and stones when we asked for fish and bread, you are not that way. You give good gifts to us, your children, when we ask you. We confess it today and we ask you inscribe the truth of your loving-kindness on our hearts today. We are asking you today, in faith, Father, grant us our need and our rest according to your will, as we present before you now:

In Jesus’ name we pray, Lord, amen.

Posted in Bible and Theology, Fear and Anxiety, God's promises, Lament, Prayer and Devotions

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Share the Comfort You Receive

Posted on March 8, 2011 by Andrea Graham| Comments Off

“ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)

Giving back, turning and strengthening others when we have come through the fire, is often one of the ways God redeems affliction for our good. If we’re currently in the fire, though, that may not be a comforting thought when we’re bleating for relief from our pain ourselves.

Seek him, don’t avoid him. He promised us he would comfort us. Allow him to give you a vision today of hope. Open your heart today by pouring out whatever is stressing, frustrating, angering or hurting you before his throne. Carve time out for Him, the way we’d like our busy loved ones to do for us. Take time to bless him. Let’s also take time to bless others with the comfort we have received. That’s what it’s for.

But if you want to comfort others, first receive comfort from God. Draw on your own hurts and afflictions and remember what comforted you before you open your mouth to attempt to encourage your brother or sister. If you simply cannot at all relate, if you’ve never been through anything remotely similar to their circumstances, shut your mouth, offer them a hug if they’ll let you, and cry with them.

Lord, forgive us for all our failings to comfort and seek comfort from you. We bring to you today, right now, whatever affliction burdens us. We ask you to comfort us, and we thank you for your promise, and for your faithfulness and power to save us and bring good out of evil. We bless you, but let us not only tell you. Let our actions today be a blessing to you and bring you glory.

Posted in Bible and Theology, Lament, Prayer and Devotions, Suffering

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Seek the Lord’s way

Posted on March 3, 2011 by Andrea Graham| Comments Off

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9)

Some like to quote this verse to hurting people asking why God allows suffering. They’re misapplying it a bit. The immediate context for this statement is:

Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

In other words–we must seek the Lord and call upon him. If we forsake wicked ways and unrighteous thoughts and return to him, God will have compassion on us and pardon us–because he’s not like us.

Verses ten through twelve go on to specify how he’s not like us. And it’s quite a challenge to us. God’s ways aren’t our ways because his words are never empty promises. He always keeps his word, accomplishes all he sets out to do, and his plans always succeed.  Though everyone around us may fail us, though we may have known no one on this earth whose word was truly their bond, God’s promise is as good as gold.

Sometimes, we really don’t understand his plan. Sometimes, we are impatient and wanting instant results when his time tables aren’t exactly McDonalds’. But it’s better to mourn with those who mourn and weep with those who weep and realize the point is, what he said he would do, he will do. One thing he never promised us was that any earthly thing would be secure. He never promised us we wouldn’t suffer here on Earth. He promised he’d be with us. He promised us forgiveness, peace, and joy. He promised us Heaven.

Lord forgive us for any unwise words we’ve spoken to hurting souls. Forgive us for any times we’ve broken our word and not done what we said we would do. Help us to be more like you, to depict your ways more accurately to a lost and broken world often jaded about promises. Give us wisdom not to over-promise and commit ourselves to more than we are able to accomplish. Transform our minds to think your thoughts, so we might act from your heart. In Jesus name we pray, Lord, amen.

Posted in Bible and Theology, God's Character, God's promises, Lament, Prayer and Devotions, Sin and Holiness, Suffering

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Not all afflictions come from sin

Posted on March 2, 2011 by Andrea Graham| Comments Off

“But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold. My foot has held fast to his steps; I have kept his way and have not turned aside.” (Job 23:10-11)

In Job 22, Eliaz told Job, that to have suffered so greatly, he must have done something horribly wrong and accuses him of a whole list of wicked deeds. He tells him to agree with God who had judged him, repent, and he will be at peace and good will come to him. (Which would be good advice, if Job was actually suffering the wages of sin.)

In Job 23, our hero responds by lamenting, wishing he could appeal his case to God, and expresses confidence God would acquit him if he could. Then, in verses eight and nine, he says of God:

“Behold, I go forward, but he is not there, and backward, but I do not perceive him; on the left hand when he is working, I do not behold him; he turns to the right hand, but I do not see him.”

So, now, in context, Job is saying–I do not see him working, I do not feel his presence, but he knows right where I am and will get me through this. He expresses faith in God while defending himself against Eliaz’s charges in Job 22. It is popular in some Christian circles to say affliction equals sin. And sin can lead to affliction. But that is not always the case.

Sometimes God allows affliction and trials in his saints lives through no fault of their own, for his own purposes. Let us seek the faith and patience of Job.

Lord, thank you for your word. Grant us the peace of a clear conscience in the midst of trials and affliction. I pray we would hold fast to you and to your promises even when we cannot see you at work or feel your presence. We love you, Lord. We are choosing to trust and obey you today. Strengthen us to do your will. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

Posted in Bible and Theology, Faith, Lament, Prayer and Devotions

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Can you say you desire only God?

Posted on March 1, 2011 by Andrea Graham| Comments Off

“Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” (Psalm 73:25-26)

Most of us can confidently say we only have one God in Heaven. I wonder if anyone besides Asaph can honestly say we desire nothing on the earth besides God. Of course, this is a lament, so he’s just dumped out before God all of his baggage, in his case a rather frustrated envy of the wicked who prosper while the innocent are stricken. So we might get there in the same way. However, if there is anything we desire more than God, that is idolatry that will separate us from Him, so we need to examine ourselves and invite God to search our hearts and show us.

Whatever it is, get rid of it or the desire for it, or surrender control of it to God. Be willing to lose it or forgo it and still love and serve Him. Though our heart and flesh fail us, we too can trust in God to strengthen our hearts and  embrace him as our great reward.

Lord, we thank you for your word. Show us if anything is more precious to us than you are, and reveal to us what we can do to rectify this, and give us the strength and will to follow through. You are our inheritance, we pray knowing you intimately would be our greatest treasure. May our hunger and thirst for you void all other appetites. Make us worthy of your calling and fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by your power, so that the name of the Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in us and us in him, according to your grace, oh God. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

Posted in Bible and Theology, Idols, Lament, Prayer and Devotions

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God’s Love in Suffering’s Reality

Posted on February 17, 2011 by Andrea Graham| Comments Off

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” (Romans 8:35,37)

Paul is long winded, so for the full scope of what he is saying, we need to read chapters seven and eight of Romans in one sitting, or at least 8:26-39. The most crucial context to these verses appears to be, “If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?”

This passage has a subtext or implication modern Christians in the first world, and America particularly, prefer to ignore or hope to never endure: that we will actually suffer with Christ as well as graciously  receive all things, that we will endure the suffering that cannot separate us from God’s love. We think we’re more special than all the saints before us and should be magically spared from the trial and tribulation that our culture’s corruption will inevitably bring upon us.

Our hope isn’t escape from and avoidance of pain–our hope is the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ, that we who suffer with him shall also be glorified with him. God with us though everything. He promised to be with us and love us, redeeming every sorrow so good comes from it, even should times fall that for God’s sake, “we are being killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” as the omitted verse 26 says, persecution still suffered by many of our brothers and sisters throughout history and across our globe today. The promise is, though we suffer much here, we have our hope secure in Christ and his love so long as we hold on.

If you are at a point today where you feel you cannot hold on any longer and you are ready to curse God and die (spiritually speaking,)  remember verse 26 says the spirit helps us in our weakness. Cry out to him. Scream, moan, groan, or wail, intelligibly or unintelligibly, as inclined. Tell him the honest truth of how you are feeling, but then, once you at last reach the bottom of your grief, remember his promises and hold out your hands. He will meet you there.

Lord, keep our eyes and hearts fixed upon you today. Increase our faith and endurance, and grow in us the knowledge of your good and righteous will. Show us the path you would lay out before us and cleanse our hearts of evil so we would walk in it. Grant us confidence in your perfect work of redemption. Give us hearts tender to you today and increase our love for one another. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

Posted in Bible and Theology, God's promises, Lament, Prayer and Devotions, Suffering

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