Lessons in Lament from the Scriptures
Exodus 14:10-12 NIV
10
As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and
there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They
were terrified and cried out to the Lord.
11
They said to
Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt
that
you brought us to the desert to die?
What have
you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?
12
Didn’t
we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the
Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve
the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”
Paul, Philippians 2:12-14 NIV
12
Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always
obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more
in my absence—
continue to work out your salvation
with fear and trembling,
13
for it is God who works in
you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.
14
Do everything without grumbling
or arguing
,
15
so that
you may become blameless and pure,
“children of
God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.”
“My God, my God,
why have you abandoned me
?
Why are you so far away when I groan for help?”
Psalm 22:1 NLT
Jesus’ lament from the cross
– Matt 27:46; Mark 15:34
Psalm 13:1-2 NIV
1
How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2
How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?
Psalm 13:3-4 NIV
3
Look on me and answer, Lord my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
4
and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.
Psalm 13:5-6 NIV
5
But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
6
I will sing the Lord’s praise,
for he has been good to me.
The
Necessity
of Lament
We need to practice lament if we’re
going to develop a resilient faith.
Why?
The
Necessity
of Lament
We need to practice lament if we’re
going to develop a resilient faith.
Why?
1.
Lament says, “This isn’t right.”
The
Necessity
of Lament
We need to practice lament if we’re
going to develop a resilient faith.
Why?
1.
Lament says, “This isn’t right.”
2.
Lament says, “This hurts, but I’m not quitting.”
The
Necessity
of Lament
We need to practice lament if we’re
going to develop a resilient faith.
Why?
1.
Lament says, “This isn’t right.”
2.
Lament says, “This hurts, but I’m not quitting.”
3.
Lament says, “God, I/we need your help.”
Hebrews 2:14-15 NLT
14
Because God’s children are human beings—
made of flesh and blood—
the Son also became
flesh and blood
. For only as a human being could
he die, and only by dying could he break the
power of the devil, who had the power of death.
15
Only in this way could he set free all who have
lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying.
Hebrews 2:17-18 NLT
17
Therefore, it was necessary for him to be made in
every respect like us, his brothers and sisters,
so that
he could be our
merciful and faithful
High Priest
before God. Then he could offer a sacrifice that would
take away the sins of the people.
18
Since he himself
has gone through suffering and testing,
he is able to
help us
when we are being tested.
Resilient Faith. If you’re just joining us, that’s the title of our Lent 2021 sermon series. In this series we have been exploring what it looks like to deepen our trust in Christ and grow our faith to withstand the trials, challenges, and storms of life; to develop the grit, adaptability, and resilience of our Lord Jesus.
For obvious reasons, we’ve created our Lenten series with this past year in mind. As we’ve all experienced in one form or another, the past 12 months have been jolting. It’s been sort of like CrossFit for the soul. “CrossFit”… that’s appropriate. Think about it. CrossFit is a strength and conditioning workout that is done at a high intensity level. It’s effective (and painful) because it’s all about “muscle confusion.”
The idea with that is if you quickly and repeatedly change your workout, you can shock your muscles and achieve better results—making you leaner, stronger, faster, etc. Basically, by stimulating and shocking the muscle, you break its training habit, or its automatic response to exercise. I experienced a version of this a few years ago when I did P90X for about 6 months.
But seriously, our trials, challenges, and suffering in life are a lot like that. And while it can be painful, it is often the way God does new things, shocks and strengthens our spiritual and religious muscles, and builds a faith that is more resilient and rooted in his love and good will for our lives, and our church.
So, we began our series by looking at some of the metaphors that the Scriptures use to describe how God shapes us and our faith through trials and hardships. Metaphors like metallurgy (purifying gold), forging metals with fire, clay in the hands of the potter, and the wilderness, which is what Jesus experienced out in the desert, and what we give attention to during Lent. Therefore, I invited us to see and embrace our own wilderness as an opportunity to build character, grow our endurance, and thrive on the other side.
And then last week we looked at how Jesus shows us that you can’t build resilient faith unless you learn to resist temptation and evil. I said that the New Testament reveals that we have three enemies that should be resisted: the world, our flesh, and the devil. And so, if we want to follow Jesus and grow in our walk, especially through difficult seasons, then we must engage in spiritual warfare through prayer.
Which brings us to today’s message, the third installment in our Resilient Faith series, a message I’ve entitled, The Necessity of Lament. [BRIEF PRAYER]
In reading the Old Testament, it’s easy to see that the Exodus and the wilderness period was no doubt the most formative event in the life of Israel. The Babylonian exile being the next big one. Certainly, both events were used to teach God’s people about himself, to clarify their calling and identity, and to shape their theology, their faith, and how they lived in the world.
But remember, that journey was full of ups and downs, twists and turns, faith and unbelief. In fact, the story of deliverance got off to a rough start. You’ll recall that Pharoah eventually agreed to release all of the Hebrew slaves after Yahweh had proved his power over the gods of Egypt. But not long into the exodus, the king of Egypt decides that he’s made a mistake and wants them back. So, he goes after them, and then God’s people find themselves trapped between Pharoah’s army and the Red Sea. [NEXT SLIDE]
Explore the powerful moments of lament in the Bible from Exodus to the Psalms, reflecting on the cries, doubts, and trust expressed by figures like the Israelites, Jesus, and the Psalmist. Discover the necessity of lament in developing a resilient faith.
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Presentation Transcript
Exodus 14:10-12 NIV 10As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord.11They said to Moses, Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?12Didn t we say to you in Egypt, Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians ? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!
Paul, Philippians 2:12-14 NIV 12Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,13for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. 14Do everything without grumbling or arguing,15so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.
My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are you so far away when I groan for help? Psalm 22:1 NLT Jesus lament from the cross Matt 27:46; Mark 15:34
Psalm 13:1-2 NIV 1 How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? 2How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me?
Psalm 13:3-4 NIV 3Look on me and answer, Lord my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death, 4and my enemy will say, I have overcome him, and my foes will rejoice when I fall.
Psalm 13:5-6 NIV 5But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. 6I will sing the Lord s praise, for he has been good to me.
We need to practice lament if were going to develop a resilient faith. Why? The Necessity of Lament
We need to practice lament if were going to develop a resilient faith. Why? 1. Lament says, This isn t right. The Necessity of Lament
We need to practice lament if were going to develop a resilient faith. Why? 1. Lament says, This isn t right. 2. Lament says, This hurts, but I m not quitting. The Necessity of Lament
We need to practice lament if were going to develop a resilient faith. Why? 1. Lament says, This isn t right. 2. Lament says, This hurts, but I m not quitting. 3. Lament says, God, I/we need your help. The Necessity of Lament
Hebrews 2:14-15 NLT 14Because God s children are human beings made of flesh and blood the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. 15Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying.
Hebrews 2:17-18 NLT 17Therefore, it was necessary for him to be made in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters,so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. Then he could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people.18Since he himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested.
