Life is Rough

We are starting a sermon series this week called “Life.” We will be looking at various scriptures in the Old Testament that offer us a glimpse at the good and bad of life with reminders throughout on how we should react to the love God has given to us.

We begin by looking at how at times “Life is Rough.” Our scripture comes from Lamentations 1:1-6. The words will be on the screen.

1 How deserted lies the city, once so full of people! How like a widow is she, who once was great among the nations! She who was queen among the provinces has now become a slave.

2 Bitterly she weeps at night, tears are on her cheeks. Among all her lovers there is no one to comfort her. All her friends have betrayed her; they have become her enemies.

3 After affliction and harsh labor, Judah has gone into exile. She dwells among the nations; she finds no resting place. All who pursue her have overtaken her in the midst of her distress.

4 The roads to Zion mourn, for no one comes to her appointed festivals. All her gateways are desolate, her priests groan, her young women grieve, and she is in bitter anguish.

5 Her foes have become her masters; her enemies are at ease. The Lord has brought her grief because of her many sins. Her children have gone into exile, captive before the foe.

6 All the splendor has departed from Daughter Zion. Her princes are like deer that find no pasture; in weakness they have fled before the pursuer.

Pleas pray with me…

“I could never myself believe in God, if it were not for the cross. The only God I believe in is the One Nietzsche ridiculed as ‘God on the cross.’ In the real world of pain, how could one worship a God who was immune to it? … That is the God for me! He laid aside his immunity to pain. He entered our world of flesh and blood, tears and death. He suffered for us. Our sufferings become more manageable in the light of his.”

The late pastor and author John Stott used these words to offer what led him to become a follower of Jesus. But for our context it shows us that what we have gone through or are going through it most likely is not as bad as what Jesus faced during his time on earth.

Jesus faced betrayal, Jesus faced hate, Jesus faced being maligned for his beliefs. Jesus was beaten and eventually executed for what he believed. Jesus could truly say that at times during his time on earth “life was rough.” We have a God that knows what it’s like to face adversity here on earth.

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Lamentations, the book of the Bible our scripture for today comes from, is named because it leads us to a place. A place known as lament. Lament is a willingness or need to cry out to God. It is us saying to God that life’s rough right now. I don’t have all the answers for what I am going through. God help me figure out what to do next.

This is not a fun topic. Lament is not something that is enjoyable to discuss but through the act of lamenting it can change our lives. We have many people hurting around us. You maybe hurting yourself for some loss that you have faced in your life recently or you may have never fully overcome the pain from something in your past. Lament offers a way for you to begin a process towards happiness or at least being happier.

Lament is a way to help us deal with the pain of life when it becomes so overwhelming that we can’t find anywhere else to turn. It can lead to a hope and desire that in the worst of times we can always turn to God and know that he will be with us. God helps us through both the best and worst of times.

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Our text for today has a group of people in such a place, the city of Jerusalem. The holy city of their faith. The city has been destroyed. Many of the people have died. Some have been led away into captivity. It is a time of great pain and loss.

It is believed that the people we hear from in the book of Lamentations were dealing with survivors’ guilt. They were struggling with understanding how and why they were able to get through this event while others did not.

This scripture offers us insights and help when dealing with many if not all of life’s struggles. We not only get to feel the pain that the author is going through but we also get to know that it is OK for us to feel pain. It is OK to cry out to God when we have no answers to life’s difficulties.

Lament can be a short-term process toward healing. But it also can be a long-term process of dealing with some event or sometimes a group of events that have happened to us. We have had much turmoil in our country over many years.

You may be finding yourself needing to lament over what has and is taking place. You may need to cry out to God and let him know how you are feeling. Tell him that you may be wondering if this time of turmoil is ever going to end.

Lament gives you the ability to not only tell your side of the story but to also allow yourself to ask God where he is. You get to ask him why he hasn’t fixed what is broken. Lament is also you letting God know that you believe what is or has taken place is not fair.

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We see many people’s reactions to the turmoil happening around us as being self-destructive or involved lashing out at those around them. This could be because they are grieving. A grief towards what they believe had been better times.

If you are struggling at this time, lament may be a positive way for you to deal with your emotions. It may offer you a way to lessen the pain you are feeling and allow you to return back to your old self. You will have been changed by your experiences, but you can find comfort in turning your pain over to God.

One way that I thought might work to offer an example of what we are doing when we choose to lament or turn our pain over to God would have to do with our first reading. This is different in that the disaster didn’t happen, and the pain of loss is not yet real. But to those on the boat, they believed death was imminent. They needed Jesus to help them out of their situation.

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In our story the disciples and Jesus are on a boat. Jesus is asleep and a storm rolls in and the disciples begin to be fearful. They probably didn’t want to wake Jesus. They hoped that the storm would end.

Our time of lament might begin with a time of silence. We are coming to grips with what has happened to us, and we need to sit in silence unaware of what’s going to happen next and unsure if we are ready or able to move forward.

The disciples had each other. We may feel alone in our pain. We may believe that there is no one to help us. There is no one going through what we are going through. It is my hope that you would believe that The Church of the Good Shepherd is there for you. If not, this scripture can remind you that Jesus is there.

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The disciples reach a point that they believe that if Jesus doesn’t do something soon that they are going to die. They decide they have no choice but to wake him, so they cry out to him and ask him to save them. They want Jesus to remove the doubt, the pain, the fear that they are dealing with.

Lament is us being willing to cry out to God. We let God know of our pain and the impact that it is having on our lives. We reach a point where we can no longer remain silent so out of anger or just an attitude of giving up, we end up crying out to God.

By the way, don’t worry about using pretty words during this time. We may say words out loud we have never said out loud before. God can handle our struggles. God already knows what were thinking so he can handle what we may consider “bad words.” We should assume that he has probably heard worse than what we are saying to him.

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There words wake up Jesus. The disciples have turned the situation over to him. They knew that they were powerless in their situation. They knew that there was nothing that they could do. Jesus would have to be the one that would fix what needed fixing.

We live in a society that is often about self. We believe we can overcome the obstacles of life on our own. We think that we don’t need any help until we do. We often will eventually reach a point where we are in need. Where we give up and look towards outside sources.

Those of us that are followers of Jesus will always have a place for us to turn. We have a God that will listen to us. We have a God that wants to help us. We have a God that will never leave us or forget about us. But giving it over to God means that we trust God.

Trusting God can become the most difficult part. In some cases, we want to hold onto our pain. We want to not let it go. But it is through letting God have our pain that can lead us into a time of healing.

We can find ourselves discovering life after what caused our pain. It is not that we will forget what happened, but it becomes about overcoming our loss more than dwelling on what has taken place.

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This first reading shows us what it can mean for us to lament. We can see the process of being silent with God. Choosing to cry out to God. Trusting that God will answer and turning our struggle over to him. That is what it means to lament. It is believing that God can handle our problems both big and small way better than we can.

There is no event or thing in your life that is too big or too small to choose to lament over. Someone may believe what you are struggling with is no big deal. If it is a big deal to you, if it is causing you to struggle in your life, then it is something that you should lament. God desires to have you be willing to cry out to him.

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So, how do we lament. We first remember that it is OK to have the feeling we have. It is not fun but if we are angry at God or believe that like in the disciples’ case, he must be asleep. It is OK to wake him up.

How you let God know your feelings can differ from person to person. For some it may mean yelling. For others it may be like having a conversation with God. For some it may be while sitting while for others you may be standing or even laying on the ground. There is no wrong way to lament.

In fact, you may choose that for you the best method is to write out your thoughts. Writing down your struggles to Jesus may be a better way for you to express the feelings that you are facing. The most important thing is for you to find the way that will best work for you.

One advantage of writing down your lament is that it gives you something to keep as a reminder of where you were at this point in your life. For some it gives them something to tear up or burn as a symbolic way of removing the pain of that event from their life.

Next, let the words flow. Don’t hold back. Say it the way you believe you are supposed to say it. God won’t care how you express your loss, your pain. He just desires to have you share how you are feeling with him because he loves you as you are in that moment.

Lament is personal and can be life changing. In manyways, it is us giving up and telling God that you are giving your biggest struggles in life over to him. Lament is us admitting we don’t have all the answers. We need help.

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We can also help others through their times of struggle. We should choose to be there for those that need us when they have something in their lives that is holding them back. One way that we can help is to help them understand what it means to lament and help them do it if they aren’t already aware of how to go about it.

If they are willing to try, ask them if they want you in the room or if they want you to leave. It is possible that they may need support. You may be the person they need in order to help them overcome this obstacle in their life.

They may also choose to be alone. This maybe a very vulnerable time for them. They may want to be alone in their time with God. They may not want you to hear the words that they want to say to God. Make sure to let them know you will be there for them when they are done.

Lastly, what happens as you assist someone else through lament is that it stays between them and you. You not only need to protect what is said, you also cannot be disappointed in the way someone expresses their discontent. Again, the person may use language you did not expect. You need to not respond in any negative manner to what they say or do.

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I want to also make sure I am clear in stating that there may be times that you need to get professional help. Choosing to go to counseling is not you giving up on God or yourself. God has given people the gift and the training to be able to help those around them overcome their hurts.

It is OK for you to decide that you need more than you or your friends can offer. God has provided help for us during those times when we can’t overcome the troubles of the world on our own.

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Let me end with a story of Makayla Noble. She was a junior in high school when she went from a nationally known cheerleader to paralyzed after a cheer accident. This happened four years ago on September 20. This is what she posted on the four year anniversary.

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Can you imagine the amount of grief and lamenting that she has been through over the last four years. The crying out to God. Asking God why me? But through the pain and sorrow she is at a place where she can say “I am still here, I am still me, God is who he says he is, and God is not done with me.”

This is where lament can lead us. Lament can help guide us to a place of not forgetting but believing that God is with us and is there to help lift us up during our times of struggle.

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You may have something that has happened or that is currently happening in your life in which you are struggling with and may have a feeling of hopelessness. Let God help you through this. Trust that he wants to hear from you and be there for you.

If you need help feel free to contact me and I will do what I can to help you. God loves you and desires to be with you when life is good and also when life is rough.

Please pray with me…