“There’s a lot of talk about how to lament these days, but what do we do after—what comes next?”
My friend’s question was intriguing. He was right to identify the need for extended reflection. After all, the moments following lament are just as important as the pain-pressed prayers themselves. We must choose to do something next, so what will it be? Withdraw in self-pity? Lash out at loved ones? Self-medicate with creature comforts? Give ourselves over to the futility of restlessness or the fruitlessness of resignation? We need wisdom, lest the choices we make do more harm than good.
Because all of life is lived before God, how we move forward from lament truly matters. So what wisdom does he offer to us in these fragile and frustrated moments? Reflecting more deeply on my friend’s question, I recalled how God has led me through past post-prayer tension. His instructions have always been simple and humbling to heed in my pain. Still to this day, when my troubles lead me to take refuge in God through lament, the Spirit uses the same three pieces of wisdom to guide my next steps. When I can’t resolve my complaint, I can still aim to please God with my post-lament choices (2 Cor. 5:9).
By his Spirit and Word, so can you.
My friend’s question was intriguing. He was right to identify the need for extended reflection. After all, the moments following lament are just as important as the pain-pressed prayers themselves. We must choose to do something next, so what will it be? Withdraw in self-pity? Lash out at loved ones? Self-medicate with creature comforts? Give ourselves over to the futility of restlessness or the fruitlessness of resignation? We need wisdom, lest the choices we make do more harm than good.
Because all of life is lived before God, how we move forward from lament truly matters. So what wisdom does he offer to us in these fragile and frustrated moments? Reflecting more deeply on my friend’s question, I recalled how God has led me through past post-prayer tension. His instructions have always been simple and humbling to heed in my pain. Still to this day, when my troubles lead me to take refuge in God through lament, the Spirit uses the same three pieces of wisdom to guide my next steps. When I can’t resolve my complaint, I can still aim to please God with my post-lament choices (2 Cor. 5:9).
By his Spirit and Word, so can you.
