Write A Lament Psalm - Five Days to Joy When You’re Overlooked

Write a Lament Psalm

“For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime! Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.” (Psalm 30:5, NLT)

Sometimes dreams don’t come true. A dear friend overlooks us—again. Or our economic uncertainly screams stress. The Psalmists understood the nature of life, full of both triumph and tragedy, laughter and grief.

As we read the Psalms, we stumble upon many Lament Psalms. The liminal space between sorrow and joy is the difficult word Lament.

Lament is the pathway from darkness to light, despair to laughter, feeling overlooked to worthiness. To rejoice well, we must grieve well.

Lament Psalms follow a specific structure:

  1. A complaint about a painful situation, or questions about why God doesn’t seem to be helping.
  2. A request that God would act on your behalf.
  3. A confession of trust in God despite the current struggle.
  4. A praise to God amid the pain.
  5. An assurance that God is in control.

Let’s look at Psalm 13, a Psalm of David, in light of this structure:

  1. Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever? How long will you look the other way? How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart every day? How long will my enemy have the upper hand? (1-2). Complaint
  2. Turn and answer me, O Lord my God! Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die. Don’t let my enemies gloat, saying, “We have defeated him!” Don’t let them rejoice at my downfall (3-4). Request
  3. But I trust in your unfailing love. I will rejoice because you have rescued me (5). Confession
  4. I will sing to the Lord (6a). Praise
  5. Because he is good to me (6b). Assurance

If you’d like to do some independent study of Lament Psalms, here is a list of them: 3, 6, 7, 13, 30, 34, 43, 44, 51, 52, 59, 60, 74, 79, 102, and 137. See if you can uncover the structure—verse by verse.

In order to begin moving through unprocessed grief, I want you to write your own lament Psalm. Use the framework above or create a collage. To make a collage, simply turn a piece of paper horizontally, and fold it into five sections. In each section, place pictures that represent each part of the Lament Psalm (Complaint, Request, Confession, Praise, Assurance).

I sincerely pray that this exercise changes your life as it has mine.

PRAYER:

Jesus, help me to process the feeling of being overlooked. Even when I feel small and insignificant, you see me. Be near me as I choose to let this pain go. Amen.

From the Book: