Spiritual Disciplines 4: LAMENT

WEEKLY: As Christians, we all want to grow closer to Jesus, but it doesn’t happen without some intentional training. Spiritual disciplines, according to Bishop Manny Carlos, are “habits or practices that are intended to help you grow in your relationship with God…and in Christlikeness.” Over the summer, we are going to cover one Spiritual Discipline a week as we attempt to use them in our lives to grow closer to Jesus and closer in likeness to the life He lived.

We can run, hide, avoid, or medicate ourselves to hide from sorrow, pain, and suffering but God has given a pathway to engage it with Him. When we Lament, we are taking hold of the tools God has given us to process the difficult seasons, unfortunately, we rarely use it in our culture today. How do we recapture the lost art of Lament and use it as a discipline today?

READ: Psalm 73; The Book of Lamentations

LISTEN:

LEARN MORE:

REFLECT:

  1. When you think of Lament what do you think about? What emotions, postures, facial expressions, and attitudes are present?

  2. When was the last time you honestly Lamented? What were the circumstances surrounding that moment?

  3. When we Lament, it reminds us that we should not have an attitude of triumphalism. What is triumphalism, why is it problematic, and how does Lament help us to counteract it?

  4. Recapturing Lament helps us to hold on to God in times of sorrow and suffering. How does it help?

  5. How can you implement a theology and liturgy of Lament in your life today? What rhythms can you establish to help you do this regularly?

** While we may not agree with everything the authors/speakers say in our resources, diversity in perspectives is beneficial to growth, and we encourage an open and Spirit discerning posture while studying the Scripture and while reviewing any resource. **

Erik Thien