When Life Hurts: Learning to Cry Out Like the Psalms
It’s quite interesting to note that there are more lament Psalms than any other type of Psalm. Usually, when we think of the Psalter, we picture joyous, melodic shouts of praise—not sad, heartbroken cries for help. And yet, the latter make up the majority. But leave it to God to know what we need—and that certainly includes the ability to lament.
While recently studying the lament Psalms, here are a few things I learned:
We Need to Cry Out to God
The first thing we see in every lament is the psalmist crying out to God. Essentially, that’s what a lament is—it’s a prayer. And in that sense, the writer shows they trust God enough to go to him in their pain. This is where we should start too.
When you’re struggling—whether you’re simply having a bad day or your world is turning upside down—go to God. Be honest with him about how you’re feeling (he knows it all anyway). Ask him your questions, knowing he can handle them.
Just this act itself—talking to God in prayer—helps mend our hearts. As we bring our problems to the Lord, we gain perspective. We remember who God is. We remember what life is all about. We begin to see our situation from an eternal point of view.
2. We Should Choose to Trust God
Let’s be honest: when life feels terrible, it can be hard to trust God. But whether we feel like God is trustworthy or not is beside the point. We know he is—and we need to remind ourselves of this reality when we’re in the thick of it.
When you’re going through something hard, will yourself into trusting God. Tell yourself who he is. Rehearse all the attributes of God that remind you he is in control, he knows what he is doing, and he loves you.
Those three truths—his sovereignty, his wisdom, and his love—should be enough to convince you that God is worthy of your trust.
Basically, we need to tell ourselves over and over again that we trust God.
We need to push away the thoughts that sound like,
“This is too much. I can’t handle this,”
and replace them with something like,
“My heart is steady because I trust in the Lord” (Psalm 112:7–8, paraphrased).
And say it over and over again until your heart catches up to your mind.
3. We Can Boldly Ask God for Help
The lamenting psalmist knows that it is only the Lord who will sustain him (Psalm 55:22), and it is only the Lord who has the power to affect any real change (Psalm 56:3–4). So it is with us.
We need the Lord’s help, and we should ask him for it.
The truth is: God wants to help us in our suffering. In Hebrews 4:15–16, we’re told to come confidently to the throne of grace to receive help in time of need. Furthermore, Jesus said that when we need something, we should ask—knowing that God doesn’t want to withhold good from his children (Matthew 7:7–11).
Our God has our back—we just need to go to him for the help we need.
So the question is: what do you need?
Is it comfort? Strength? Wisdom? Courage?
God wants to give you any and all of those things—if you would just ask.
Keep Pressing On
Unfortunately, all of our hearts are going to need to lament from time to time. Sin and sadness will mess up your life at some point. But God has given us a pathway to walk in our pain.
We can lament.
We can go to him in our brokenness and cry out. And as we do, we can have full confidence in him—knowing that he will sustain us.
Thankfully, one day we won’t need laments anymore. Because Christ took on the ultimate pain and suffering, one day we will be pain-free. The picture of eternity is clear:“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes… neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore…” (Revelation 21:1–4)
That will be a good day—a lament-free day.
But until that day, we have this pathway to take in our pain. And thankfully, the Lord will meet us there.
Even if we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we need not fear any evil, for he will be with us (Psalm 23:4).
