It’s Okay to Lament

<p>I dropped to my knees and let my tears fall to the floor. &ldquo;God, why aren&rsquo;t you taking care of me?&rdquo; I cried. It was during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. I&rsquo;d been laid-off for almost a month, and something had gone wrong with my unemployment application. I hadn&rsquo;t received any money yet, and on top of that, the stimulus check the US government had promised hadn&rsquo;t arrived. Deep down, I trusted that God would work out everything. I believed He truly loved me and would take care of me, but in that moment, I felt abandoned.</p> <p>The book of Lamentations reminds us it&rsquo;s okay to lament. The book was likely written during or soon after the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem in 587 bc and describes the affliction (3:1, 19), oppression (1:18), and starvation (2:20; 4:10) the people faced. Yet, in the middle of the book the author remembers why he could hope: &ldquo;Because of the <smallcaps>Lord&rsquo;s</smallcaps> great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness&rdquo; (3:22&ndash;23). Despite the devastation, the author remembered that God remains faithful.</p> <p>Sometimes it feels impossible to believe that &ldquo;the <smallcaps>Lord</smallcaps> is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him&rdquo; (v. 25), especially when we don&rsquo;t see an end to our suffering. But we can cry out to Him, trust that He hears us, and that He'll be faithful to see us through.</p>