Learning a New Language | Lamentations 3:7-33

This week we will cover the book of Lamentations as a whole as a way to springboard into talking about how it is good for God’s people to learn the language of lament. When bad things happen, too often we choose one of three options: to suffer in silence, to dismiss the bad things by speaking platitudes, or to rage. None of these three options are the best way to deal with trouble! The Bible shows us the way to lament–to give complaints to God, to ask Him why things are going so badly and what He’s going to do about them. Lamenting to God may be foreign to us, but when it is done in faith it is one of the best things we can do when we are feeling broken and downtrodden by the sinfulness of this life.

Learning to lament can be like learning a foreign language.

When we experience suffering, we typically choose one of the following options:

• Silence

• Dismissal

• Rage

None of these are virtues! God invites His people to give voice to their protests and complaints. “Lament gives a sacred dignity to human suffering.”

Overview of the book of Lamentations and some “greatest hits of lamenting” in the Scriptures

Lamentations 3:22-23: “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

For God’s people, even lamenting is an act of faith. 

God’s justice and steadfast love becomes a source of hope even in the midst of suffering and lamentation.

Sermon Discussion Questions | “Learning a New Language”

1. Have you ever tried to learn a foreign language? What was that process like?

2. Assuming you are not a fluent lamenter, which of the following three options do you typically go to when you experience suffering: silence, dismissal, or rage?

3. Why do you think it is so difficult and foreign for most Christians to lament? What would help you personally to begin to lament to God when you are suffering?

4. How does knowing God’s justice and steadfast love give you hope when you are in the midst of suffering?

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