It’s good to remind ourselves that there will be many times when we’ll feel grief or sorrow – those ‘down’ times, when things just seem to go against us, over a period of time. It happens to God’s children – we are not insulated from the thorns of this world.
Consequently, I really liked Selwyn’s conclusion: “We seem to be as afraid of lament (to express sorrow or grief) as we are of catching a serious dose of the flu. Why is this? Is it because we fail to see that openness and honesty is the soil out of which grows true confidence and joy? The ancient Israelites sang their laments as worshipful as they sang their hymns of praise; they were able to express their emotional struggles as part of their worship, knowing that God would not turn His face away from them. God delights in our passionate engagement with Him. What He longs for in all His children – is that they are real.”
For me, the problem I feel is that many Christians don’t have a living, personal relationship with Jesus. They have an intellectual view, a formulae of beliefs, that treats God as a superior being, who is distant from their emotions. Their actions, say, ‘why would God, the creator of all the universe, be interested in how I’m feeling’; basically they are saying – ‘God, is too busy with important things, to care about the small things in my life.’ They are so, so wrong! Jesus loves you – with all His mind, His heart and His strength – do you believe this? If ‘yes’, then live it.
‘No minor key’
It’s good to remind ourselves that there will be many times when we’ll feel grief or sorrow – those ‘down’ times, when things just seem to go against us, over a period of time. It happens to God’s children – we are not insulated from the thorns of this world.
Consequently, I really liked Selwyn’s conclusion: “We seem to be as afraid of lament (to express sorrow or grief) as we are of catching a serious dose of the flu. Why is this? Is it because we fail to see that openness and honesty is the soil out of which grows true confidence and joy? The ancient Israelites sang their laments as worshipful as they sang their hymns of praise; they were able to express their emotional struggles as part of their worship, knowing that God would not turn His face away from them. God delights in our passionate engagement with Him. What He longs for in all His children – is that they are real.”
For me, the problem I feel is that many Christians don’t have a living, personal relationship with Jesus. They have an intellectual view, a formulae of beliefs, that treats God as a superior being, who is distant from their emotions. Their actions, say, ‘why would God, the creator of all the universe, be interested in how I’m feeling’; basically they are saying – ‘God, is too busy with important things, to care about the small things in my life.’ They are so, so wrong! Jesus loves you – with all His mind, His heart and His strength – do you believe this? If ‘yes’, then live it.