This piece has been adapted from an exegetical reflection paper submitted for a course, The Biblical Theology of Suffering and Hope, taught by Dr. Beth Stovell at Ambrose Seminary.

We were asked to use three books from our syllabus and course lectures as primary sources.

Due to footnote formatting limitations on this platform, citations are noted in brackets, and a bibliography is included at the end.

If you prefer more personal and reflective writing, scroll down to the second half of this blog post!

Suffering and loss are inevitable life experiences for individuals and communities.

While grief is reflected in a myriad of postures and expressions, a sense of longing is usually present (Stovell, Jan. 23).

Suffering, “a feeling of more than one can bear” (Stovell, Jan. 9), involves a longing that can translate to hope in the right environment.

But today’s drugs of choice, including common coping mechanisms of denial and illusions of control, only exacerbate pain (Stovell, Jan. 23).

The Bible provides a down-to-earth model to process difficult emotions and lift one out of the “pit of despair” (Psalm 40:2).

Before examining a familiar passage of lament and the impact these expressions have on our spiritual lives, ministries, and the modern world, a broad biblical survey reveals God’s heart in suffering. 

The Bible’s first expression of lament is sensed from the Creator as a deep sadness haunts the goodness of creation.

Genesis 6:6 says,

“So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart.”

Heavenly tears fell as a worldwide flood destroyed almost all of humanity.

N.T. Wright poignantly describes the fallen state of creation:

The loneliness of God looking for his partners, Adam and Eve, in the garden; the grief of God before the flood; the head-shaking exasperation of God at Babel—all these, God knows, he will have to continue to experience. (53)

As the biblical account unfolds, evil ensues, generation after generation, and God continues to take action to bring justice (Wright, 43-74).

Long after the exodus and exile, God’s redemptive nature climaxes when he atones for all sin.

But this, too, comes with anguish.

In Matthew 26:38, Jesus describes his soul as “crushed to the point of death.”

Only hours later, Christ echoes the psalmist’s cry from Psalm 22:1:

“My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

Why? and How long? are emerging themes in most biblical laments (Thompson, 31-37).

Jesus and many other bible characters use lament as a bridge to God rather than the painful alternative of turning and walking away (Stovell, Jan. 16). 

David, who became the second King of Israel, and was seen as a man after God's heart in 1 Samuel 13:14, does not wander away but wrestles through many struggles.

His writings on intimate moments of anger, despair, and longing contribute to the psalms of lament that make up one-third of the Psalter (Stovell, Jan. 23).

Most of the laments attributed to David are found in the first half of the book of Psalms (Thompson, 31).

Psalm 22 is one of David's well-known psalms of suffering, which, as mentioned earlier, Christ referenced on the cross.

This poetic psalm repeats a common lament rhythm of distress, request and worship (Stovell, Jan. 23).

Verses 1-3 ask the familiar questions in laments:

“Where is God?” and “Why is he not responding?”

• There is a sense of abandonment.

• The following three verses make space for retelling and reminding his soul of good in the past, an antidote used throughout hard times by many biblical writers.

• But then, in verses 6-8, David falls back into defeat for how he is mocked, paralleling the ridicule Christ faced on the cross.

• Another reminder of God's faithfulness follows this as verse 9 begins, “Yet you brought me safely from my mother’s womb….”

• His pleading continues in verse 11 as he expresses how he is surrounded by enemies.

• Dramatic similes in verse 14, “My life is poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax, melting within me,” are used to paint a vivid picture of how desperate he feels.

• As the passage progresses, we again sense a foreshadowing of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross with these prophetic statements: “They have pierced my hands and my feet.” “They divide my garments among themselves and throw dice for my clothing.”

• In verse 19, more cries of supplication arise, “Oh, Lord, do not stay far away! You are my strength; come quickly to my aid.“

• A sudden shift in tone occurs in verse 22, concluding the piece with eleven verses of praise and proclamation of God’s deliverance.

• This change in perspective is not uncommon in psalms of lament, as most almost abruptly announce a renewal of faith and confidence that God has been good and will be good (Thompson, 53).

• A great hope for the future is projected in verse 30: “Our children will serve him. Future generations will hear about the wonders of the Lord.”

Laments like Psalm 22 strengthened David’s heart and touched the hearts of many who have read his words for centuries!

To explore Psalm 22 and not mention one of the most famous Psalms to follow would be an oversight.

Psalm 23, full of beautiful imagery like verse 2, “He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams,” while not a lament, is often quoted for comfort and hope surrounding suffering and death.

One summer, my family memorized this passage for a challenge, not knowing the next spring, the weekend after Easter, the children would recite Psalm 23, actions and all, at their grandfather’s funeral.

The question of God's goodness was present after my dad passed.

Still, the worship song “Goodness of God” (Johnson) which my dad requested and my siblings and I sang at his funeral, was God’s provision, along with this poetic passage embedded in my family member’s hearts.

Psalm 23:6 reads, “Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.”

Without a doubt, David experienced comfort as he processed through his pain to pen these words; words generations to follow would find solace in.

With a brief review of expressions of lament within the book of Psalms, it is time to make an application for the use of psalms of lament on our faith journeys, in our ministries and as we engage in society.

Like David, my faith is refined in spaces of lament.

Before my dad died, I thought of lamenting as a song or prayer expressing sadness and grief.

While this is true, the word Keening, “a lamentation for the dead uttered in a loud wailing voice or sometimes in a wordless cry,” better describes my expressions in the early stages of lament (Opelt).

Knowing there were places in the Bible where characters explored their deepest questions and unleashed their strongest feelings permitted me to continue working through my pain with honesty.

Beth Stovell says:

Suffering can turn a light on to help us see things we never saw before. (Jan. 16)

An unearthing and rebuilding have happened just above the foundation of my beliefs through a season of disease, death and lament.

J. Christian Bekker notes that, like the psalmist, Job had a crisis of faith, asking:

Why do the righteous suffer? (49)

This question resonates when a godly father, grandfather and pastor dies quickly from sudden cancer.

While the Old Testament addresses spaces of apparent injustice from several angles, I, too, conclude with Beker’s bold claim:

Suffering cannot be divorced from structures of hope. (58)

While on this journey of theodicy, I continue to sense the Holy Spirit’s presence, like a lighthouse offering the flicker of hope I need to stay the course.

If my “why” questions are not answered on this side of the earth, like Job, I pray revelations of God, theophany, will sustain me with hope in my longing (Thompson, 155).

I not only experience relief through lamenting personally, but many times since the loss of my father, who was the lead pastor at my church, worship, prayer and scripture readings have provided spaces for communal grief in our gatherings.

Thompson describes this space thoughtfully:

The ongoing significance of these psalms of lament is that they come out of a tradition of religious faith in which the suffering individual, or community, goes on both clinging to and also praying to God in the belief that God will bring about a change in their situation or else that entrusting the matter to God is sufficient, and that thereby a sense of peace is found. (34)

We grieved with hope as a congregation throughout the health crisis and now, after the loss.

My family also received relief through practical symbols of comfort like soft blankets, warm candles, beautiful flowers and tasty food.

This sense of community has grown my vision for the body of believers to heal together.

As we are vulnerable with our stories, like David, we invite support while creating safe spaces for others to lament.

Bringing psalms of lament into congregational meetings provides a meaningful framework to facilitate this.

Another shift in my ministry was returning to a church worship team after a twelve-year maternity break. I was inspired to battle through worship for my dad's healing, which has continued after his passing, fighting for the healing of hearts.

Because I weep and mourn through music practices in solitude at home, I can stand before our congregation with a new level of vulnerability and hope in worship.

Beyond personal and ministerial uses for lament, many in society would benefit from the cathartic healing scriptures of lament provide.

Extra tall fences, garage doors, and delivery services are some of our modern world’s barriers to connection.

Isolating rhythms and establishments limit us from personal contact and the natural relationships that enable us to celebrate the highs and comfort the lows of people like our neighbours, steps away, suffering alone.

This calls me to action. 

The Christmas my dad was diagnosed with acute cancer, we endeavoured to continue to show “radically ordinary hospitality” (Butterfield).

Our neighbours gathered around our large island filled with baking and treats as they balanced children and coffee mugs. I read Habakkuk 3:17-19 and shared that despite our Charlie Brown Christmas tree, which reminded me of the fig trees with no blossoms and my hero’s failing body, “yet I will rejoice.”

After I spoke, many wiped tears and hugged others, noticeably grieving in the room.

We are called to love our neighbour, and Wright describes this as “taking care of them, looking ahead in advance for their needs, in the way that you would take careful thought about, and plan wisely for, your own life” (161).

Despite my sweaty palms, my choice to share made space for others to release their pain and taste hope in Christ! 

Psalms of lament reflect the Lord’s heart of compassion and are a gift to us personally and in ministry and outreach contexts.

But even in the fellowship of suffering alongside others and in spaces of honesty before God, a deep longing lingers….

Like the ending of a song, we wait for the chord to resolve.

There is comfort and anticipation knowing a victory song more glorious than we can imagine will proclaim justice for all evil and healing to all sorrow (Rev. 21:4; Wright, 115; Beker, 96).

As we wait, biblical compositions like David’s psalms of lament offer hope within our longing!

Bibliography

Beker, J. Christiaan. Suffering and Hope: The Biblical Vision and the Human Predicament. 2nd edition. Grand Rapids, Mich: Wm. B. Eerdmans-Lightning Source, 1994.

Butterfield, Rosaria. The Gospel Comes with a House Key: Practicing Radically Ordinary Hospitality in Our Post-Christian World. Wheaton: Crossway, 2018.

Cain, Susan. Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole. First edition. New York: Crown, 2022.

“Definition of KEENING.” Accessed January 19, 2023. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/keening.

Johnson, Jenn, “Goodness of God,” Victory (live), Bethel Music, 2019, YouTube.

Opelt, Amanda Held. A Hole in the World: Finding Hope in Rituals of Grief and Healing. New York: Worthy Books, 2022.

Stovell, Beth. “Intro to Course and Topic.” BT 633: The Biblical Theology of Suffering and Hope. Class lecture at Ambrose Seminary, Calgary, AB, January 9, 2023.

Stovell, Beth. “Ecclesiastes and Jeremiah.” BT 633: The Biblical Theology of Suffering and Hope. Class lecture at Ambrose Seminary, Calgary, AB, January 16, 2023

Stovell, Beth. “Psalms, Suffering, and Hope.” BT 633: The Biblical Theology of Suffering and Hope. Class lecture at Ambrose Seminary, Calgary, AB, January 23, 2023.

Thompson, Michael E. W. Where Is the God of Justice?: The Old Testament and Suffering. Eugene, Or: Wipf & Stock, 2011.

Wright, N. T. Evil and the Justice of God. Downers Grove, Ill: IVP Books, 2006.