Hope cannot be divorced from lament; our hope for tomorrow has a context in the suffering and sorrow that surround us today.

Hope cannot be divorced from lament; our hope for tomorrow has a context in the suffering and sorrow that surround us today.
What role does lament play in our worship? If we come into God’s presence as whole persons, we come burdened with illness, grief, and confusion as well as with joy; with regrets and sorrows as well as with thanksgiving.
Even when we don’t feel God’s presence or God’s care for us, we know that God is present, and God is caring for his people.
What do we do with texts of joy in times when our spirits need lament? Do we ignore them?
Lord, hear our prayer, for the wounds that cannot be bound up, for the losses that cannot be fathomed, and for those who fear being forgotten.
I approach texts like Psalm 31 with great fear and trepidation. I am drawn to them like a moth to flame, which is to say, warily, for I know these Psalms of lament can be devastating if you take them seriously.