“I have learned through the years that God does not just want our happy; He also really wants our sad. Everything is not fine, and God wants to hear about it.”- Esther Fleece
Esther Fleece continues Chapter 1 of No More Faking Fine as she notes that God doesn’t minimize our pain or compare it to the pain of others. Hence, God wants us to surrender all our pain to Him. He responds with infinite compassion, for He alone possesses the capacity to do so.
Therefore, as Esther writes, lament provides a pathway to honest expression:
” . . . lament is a pathway. Honest expression to God makes way for God to come and work His real healing. Lament is a channel for powerful transformation. It is exactly the kind of song we need for hope and healing.”
As a result, real strength consists of identifying a wound and asking God to enter it. While no one enjoys dealing with pain, Ms. Fleece observes that we lose a great deal by wishing that pain away. In fact, Esther finds that, to the extent we minimize our pain, we only heal to that same extent.
In addition, when we silence the reality of our pain, Esther points out, we lose an entire vocabulary from our prayers. Thus, the church needs to be the safest place to share our pain as well as a sanctuary for our healing.
As Esther concludes, in order to lament or overcome, we must identify ourselves with Jesus. That includes acknowledging just how painful life can be. Silencing our own cries inevitably silences the cries of those around us. Ms. Fleece writes:
“There is no ‘fake it till you make it’ in Scripture. When we fake fine, we fake our way out of authentic relationship with God, others, and ourselves.”
Today’s question: Knowing that God really wants our sad, how have you expressed lament to Him? Please share.
Coming Monday: the latest Short Meditation, “Discover the beauty in sorrow”
Tomorrow’s blog: “Reclaiming the language of lament”
