Lament, Learn & Act group Collective Lament
- LLA Group
- Nov 19
- 3 min read
Holy God,
I know You have created humans in Your own image and Your Word tells us that all You created is good, very good.
BUT:
how can so many of Your people live in homeless shelters, without a sense of home?
why do so many of them live in these “emergency” shelters for years and years?
who, Lord, is helping them move beyond their current circumstances to full and fruitful lives?
who are You calling Your church to be in this space?
I lament hearts broken, bellies empty, fears realized and suffering multiplying as a result of both indifference and malice
God I know you are here
God, where are you?
I lament that we are here by choice
Not mine
Or those most affected
Where is the line when enough people say enough – no more cruelty for us?
What should I pray for?
An end to the suffering of those most affected?
Peace?
The ability to endure?
Greater faith or stronger hope?
I am disillusioned, unsure how to rally hope.
“How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever?” (Psalm 13:1)
In the halls of power, lines are drawn:
Those worthy of protection, those disposable;
Those whose prayers are heard, those ignored.
Have we forgotten what You said? “Whatever you did for one of the least of these, you did for Me.” (Matthew 25:40)
My heart is broken over a nation that treats human lives as pawns in a political game.
My heart is broken over a church that believes God is here to do our bidding, our ungodly human bidding.
My heart is broken over a church that stays silent in the face of systemic racism.
My heart is broken over a church that wants to keep the status quo instead of following the lead of the Holy Spirit.
My heart is broken over a church that misrepresents the love of God.
I lament the misnaming of You
Your light twisted into shadow,
Your likeness traded for power.
Blessing what you never blessed
– violence, domination, exclusion
I lament the idols dressed as prophets,
the misogyny, idolatry and greed
that have entangled themselves into Your bride.
Making her reflection of You dim and distorted.
No.
No.
NO!
This is not the God I know.
My God does not have changing, lying faces
My God is not a god of cruelty and caprice
My God
is a good God
a just God
a faithful God
Defender of the oppressed
and Comfort to the broken-hearted
And on that day He will say to the wicked –
the liars and blasphemers
who rejoiced in hunger and murder –
“Get away from me, I never knew you;
your praises are nothing to me.
Do not lift your hand in my name on one side
and crush a child in my name on the other.
I will not be mocked.
I will be worshipped in Spirit and in truth.”
Lord, why do you allow us to be
when you see what we do to each other?
when you see what we do to your creation?
Why does it seem impossible to put all the pieces together?
To right the wrongs?
To see justice abound?
To have restoration?
Why do you seem silent, Lord, when I know You are present among us?
I lament my own dim imagination –
my weary heart, unable to picture
a world healed and whole;
too often resigned to what is,
rather than yearning for what could be.
Lord, show me your light in the darkness
Your joy even in struggle
Your peace despite chaos
I reach for words that anchor—
“Love, and more love,
the only solution to every problem.” [Dorothy Day]
So, I give You my shattered heart and the disjointed emotions I feel.
I entrust You with the things I cannot repair and the hurt that overwhelms me.
I had fainted, had I not believed to see
The goodness of the Lord
In the land of the living.
Wait on the Lord.
Be strong, take heart, and wait on the Lord. (Psalm 27:13-14)
