9.29.19 - Personal Lament (Kenny Camacho)

SCRIPTURE: selected Psalms of personal lament


In order to learn how to step effectively into the grief of others, we must first learn how to practice grief and lament for ourselves. Luckily, the practices for sharing grief we talked about last week can apply to us, too! In order to practice personal lament, we first need to learn to recognize and articulate our grief, seeking not to fix it but to dwell in and experience it. Second, we need to gain confidence in our ability to cry out to God honestly. The beauty of lament is that it can transform even our cries of doubt into acts of worship and expressions of faith. And lastly, we can learn to verbalize and lean on the things we believe to be true about God. Instead of platitudes, we can be people of honesty, vulnerability, and patience. 

 

REFLECTION/DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

  1. Have you ever been mad at God? If you are comfortable sharing your answer, why were you mad at him? When did you stop being mad? What changed?

  2. Thinking about the broken things in our lives can often leave us feeling helpless and lead to cynicism. How is lament different than cynicism? How does lamenting lead us to faith?

  3. How can lament help to bring shalom (wholeness) to our lives?

  4. How is lament different than just listing complaints or expressing sadness?

  5. What are the things you believe to be true about God all the time?

  6. When is it appropriate to share hope with people who are grieving? 

Kenny Camacho