Lament - Tim Be Told

scripture and prayer reflection

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Lyrics

They say You are jealous

They say You are kind

But the jealous part seems to win all the time

If You're so mighty, why do you break

The weak and the weary, and steal what they make?

They say You're forgiving

That You'll not forsake

But You punched me out when I made a mistake

I try to find beauty in the mess that You made

But You just stayed angry and never forgave

Yes, I know You are great

But is a bad God better than none?

How much more will it take to undo the damage that You have done?

'Cause the wicked and wayward continue to thrive

And the martyrs continue giving their lives

Oh, the faithful never survive

Oh, the faithful never survive

You're the almighty, so I am afraid

You crushed me to pieces, then stole what I made

If hopeless delusion is a righteous man's fate

I don't know how much more I can take

Yes, I know You are great

But is a bad God better than none?

How much more will it take to undo the damage that You have done?

'Cause the wicked and wayward continue to thrive

And the martyrs continue giving their lives

Oh, the faithful never survive

Oh, the faithful never survive

God are You listening?

Please hear my cry

I don't really believe You're more cruel than You're kind

But I'm getting tired of repeating this line

The faithful never survive

Yes, I know You are great

That You're a good God, and You are love

How much more will it take to undo the damage that I have done?

Please conquer these demons and the darkness inside

Shine Your light on this cold heart of mine

Maybe my faith will survive

Maybe my faith will survive

Maybe my faith will survive

Jeremiah 12:1-2

1 Righteous are you, O Lord,

when I complain to you;

yet I would plead my case before you.

Why does the way of the wicked prosper?

Why do all who are treacherous thrive?

2 You plant them, and they take root;

they grow and produce fruit;

you are near in their mouth

and far from their heart.

Habakkuk 1:2-4

2 O Lord, how long shall I cry for help,

and you will not hear?

Or cry to you “Violence!”

and you will not save?

3 Why do you make me see iniquity,

and why do you idly look at wrong?

Destruction and violence are before me;

strife and contention arise.

4 So the law is paralyzed,

and justice never goes forth.

For the wicked surround the righteous;

so justice goes forth perverted.

Psalm 94:3-7, 12-19, 22

3 O Lord, how long shall the wicked,

how long shall the wicked exult?

4 They pour out their arrogant words;

all the evildoers boast.

5 They crush your people, O Lord,

and afflict your heritage.

6 They kill the widow and the sojourner,

and murder the fatherless;

7 and they say, “The Lord does not see;

the God of Jacob does not perceive.”

12 Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O Lord,

and whom you teach out of your law,

13 to give him rest from days of trouble,

until a pit is dug for the wicked.

14 For the Lord will not forsake his people;

he will not abandon his heritage;

15 for justice will return to the righteous,

and all the upright in heart will follow it.

16 Who rises up for me against the wicked?

Who stands up for me against evildoers?

17 If the Lord had not been my help,

my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence.

18 When I thought, “My foot slips,”

your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up.

19 When the cares of my heart are many,

your consolations cheer my soul.

22 But the Lord has become my stronghold,

and my God the rock of my refuge.

Reflection

Our culture likes happy endings. We don’t like death, we’re uncomfortable with mourning, and often don’t want our grieving to be out in the open for all to see. We don’t have a cultural practice of lament. Instead, it can be tempting to ignore what we are feeling and deny it, covering it over with “right answer” theology. It can feel so foreign for us to hold the tension between right answers and our felt experience, and yet this is the pattern of lament that we see laid out for us in scripture.

Lamenting starts with honesty. Lament doesn’t sugarcoat our feelings to “protect” God from our anger, or somehow manipulate Him by being well-behaved. God already knows what we’re feeling, perhaps even more so than we do ourselves. We might as well bring it out into the open so that we can talk about it with Him.

This song contains a blunt and honest look at someone’s wrestling with suffering. The songwriter is holding both God’s greatness and all the theologically correct notions of His character, but is initially finding those overwhelmed by the suffering he sees in his own life and the lives of other believers around him. This is similar to the many times in the Psalms or the prophets where the writers cry out to God, asking why He is allowing things to happen that seem so contrary to His character. The singer’s tone even borders on accusatory, much like Jeremiah, when he talks of God being the one who plants and grows the wicked and allows them to prosper while those more righteous suffer.

But lament does not end simply with a venting of emotions. There is brutal honesty, yes, but there is also a renewal of clinging to truth - an orienting to God in the midst of the feelings, holding them with Him. As with the end of the song, lament turns to take a new grip on God and the truth of His character, not just in spite of, but also in light of all of the honesty that has come before. There is an acknowledgement of our own weakness and short-sightedness involved in continuing to cling to God in trust - an owning of our dependence upon Him, even in the wrestling.

Take some time to reflect on your own life. How do you tend to respond to grief? When have there been times of deep wrestling? What would it look like to lament in your own life? Talk with God about what comes up.