4 minute read<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBecause of the Lord\u2019s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, \u201cThe Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.\u201d (Lamentations 3:22-24 NIV)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When life is overwhelming, cry out to Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lamentation\u2019s<\/a> author is unknown, a collection of five poems. He\u2019s writing about the fall of Jerusalem and the Exile, a world tragedy. The words are out of suffering and pain. As the chapter begins, the writer cries out to God; then, he changes his tune. He remembers God can and will save them from their circumstances in His time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLament, prayer and grief are a crucial part of the journey of faith for God\u2019s people in a broken world. That is what the book of Lamentations is about.\u201d <\/em> The Bible Project, \u2018Lamentations\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Lamenting is allowed.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Lamenting<\/a> is a passionate expression of grief or sorrow. What I classify as \u201cdark nights of the soul\u201d is lamenting to me. Wrestling with God about the pain you\u2019re in, looking for hope when all seems lost. We are allowed to grieve and grieve well; we need to let out the emotion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Recently, an event I attended reminded me of my mother, who passed away six years ago. The emotions overwhelmed me. Minutes after my husband pulled out of the parking lot; the tears started rolling down my cheeks. For the next 48 hours, I grieved my mother\u2019s loss deeply\u2014something I hadn\u2019t done in a while. My heart physically hurt from missing her, realizing I won\u2019t see her again until I get to heaven. In my pain, I cried out to Jesus, asking Him for relief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Relief came in the form of a butt dial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My phone rang just as I was about to start my day. The name on the screen was one I didn\u2019t expect, a co-worker from over 20 years ago. Without hesitation, I answered the phone. We hadn\u2019t spoken to each other in a decade. We spent the next three and a half hours catching up with each other, sharing our hearts. Before the call ended, we scheduled lunch. God knew I needed my friend. And the call began because the phone butt dialed in her pocket as she was out for her morning walk. God\u2019s divine intervention and answer to my lamenting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lament to God, let your heart\u2019s sorrows out. Whatever you feel, release it to Him. Give Him your burdens, in return, take on His yoke:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTake my yoke upon you…for I am gentle and humble in heart…you will find rest for your souls.\u201d (<\/em>Matthew 11:28 NIV<\/em><\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Allow yourself to lament, unloading your burdens to Jesus. Then put on His yoke and find rest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Question of the Day:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n What lament have you not expressed to God?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Further Reading:<\/strong>Lamentations 3 NIV<\/a>, Hebrews 1 NIV<\/a>, Psalm 102 NIV<\/a>, Proverbs 26:21-22 NIV<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 4 minute read \u201cBecause of the Lord\u2019s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, \u201cThe Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.\u201d (Lamentations 3:22-24 NIV) When life is overwhelming, cry out to Jesus. Lamentation\u2019s author… Continue reading HOW TO COPE WHEN LIFE IS CONSUMING YOU<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2659","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","without-featured-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2659","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2659"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2659\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2662,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2659\/revisions\/2662"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2659"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}