“I cry out to you Lord, I say, ‘You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.” ~Psalm 142:5

At our Summer Hope4Hollywood Ladies Tea: Stories of Courage, we heard from Charity Ngaruiya about how God enabled her to have courage in the midst of struggles with her education. She shared how she relied on God’s attribute of faithfulness despite facing continual obstacles with finances and work. One of the most encouraging lessons God taught her was how to engage in the practice of lament. Throughout Scripture, there are examples of people engaging in passionate expressions of grief in the form of song or poetry. Charity learned that through her lament she could cry out to God in her pain and anguish, which enabled her to have greater faith. At the tea, she shared her lament:

“Oh My God, my Lord, Yes, God you are my God! The God I trust and believe in the God who hears me, provides and protects me! And yet God I am angry…..Yes, I am angry because of some things I have gone through, at times I have wondered where you are! God it has been painful, sometimes almost to the point of giving up. Lord! there are times I have been worried that things will never be okay again. Yet God, you are a holy God, a God who hears and sees the injustices of your people. You see even the tears we cry and sometimes the feelings of shame or guilt. Yet now O Lord, I will trust you, Yes Lord I will trust in you!! For I believe that I am a child of grace and I will see your goodness in this land of the living. God please do not forsake me, let me always be near to you, for from you I draw the living water that sustains my life. Help me Lord to forgive….. Yes! Lord to forgive and I pray that God you will heal me and remove from me the burden of anger. Because I know that deep down inside of me is that well of joy which comes because I put my trust wholly in you!  Amen.”

What struggles are you currently facing that have you feeling hopeless and angry?

How can writing a prayer of lament this week help strengthen your faith?