I have been pondering the situation in Arizona where the young man opened fire on several at a grocery store. They were in line to see the Congresswoman Giffords. As of writing this blog, six have been killed and 14 have been injured. Among the fatalities are a 9 year old girl born on September 11, 2001, a District Judge, and a member of the church of christ (my heritage). I think about those that have lost lives due to violence and those injured due to brute evil. It pains me to think on these things and yet I am so far removed from the actual situation. I have had my own times of grief through the years and there are several members of our family that are in ill health that will bring more grieving soon.
And when I grieve I will cry, moan, cry out to God, and pray fervently. I will dip into my spirit of lament and find my God glorious. I will read Psalm 88 (the only Psalm without any positive words or praise) and find comfort in it's tone and sadness. I will not lose hope in God, but will anticipate Christ second coming. And while the world may find this weak, blubbery, foolish, and infantile; God will dig into his own lament, touch my tears, feel my turmoil, and allow me to be in pain.
Tears and pain are not necessarily a negative thing. Mourning is called on by God in scripture. Hurting is part of the brokenness of life. God is calling out back to us during our cry for help and absorbing our personal pain, mixing it with his Holy intent and creating a longing for home that is eternal and true.
May we learn how to grieve better than any other religion and as my friend in Ministry said the other day May we as Christians die better than anyone else because of our expectation of the true Messiah and just King.
When you find yourself in tragedy; cry today, cry tomorrow, and cry again. And for those that have not seen tragedy yet, or are in between the brokenness of this world right now: God is calling you to weep with those who weep and mourn with those who mourn. Let your lament shout as loud as your praise, because God is God whether this life is great or whether this life is bleak.
Today, I mourn with the six families who lost loved ones to senseless violence and the fourteen and their families who have been injured. I will mourn and I will weep and for them I will cry out Come Lord Jesus!
And when I grieve I will cry, moan, cry out to God, and pray fervently. I will dip into my spirit of lament and find my God glorious. I will read Psalm 88 (the only Psalm without any positive words or praise) and find comfort in it's tone and sadness. I will not lose hope in God, but will anticipate Christ second coming. And while the world may find this weak, blubbery, foolish, and infantile; God will dig into his own lament, touch my tears, feel my turmoil, and allow me to be in pain.
Tears and pain are not necessarily a negative thing. Mourning is called on by God in scripture. Hurting is part of the brokenness of life. God is calling out back to us during our cry for help and absorbing our personal pain, mixing it with his Holy intent and creating a longing for home that is eternal and true.
May we learn how to grieve better than any other religion and as my friend in Ministry said the other day May we as Christians die better than anyone else because of our expectation of the true Messiah and just King.
When you find yourself in tragedy; cry today, cry tomorrow, and cry again. And for those that have not seen tragedy yet, or are in between the brokenness of this world right now: God is calling you to weep with those who weep and mourn with those who mourn. Let your lament shout as loud as your praise, because God is God whether this life is great or whether this life is bleak.
Today, I mourn with the six families who lost loved ones to senseless violence and the fourteen and their families who have been injured. I will mourn and I will weep and for them I will cry out Come Lord Jesus!
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