The Voice of Lament

 

The psalms give voice to the deepest pain, anguish, fear, despair, and sometimes, anger of the human soul, direct that voice God-ward where God seems to say, "I understand. It's OK to feel this way. It's OK to tell me. I hear you. We are going to get through this together. Trust me. I love you."

Here, our tug-of-war between fight and flight are met with a new option: flow.

" My heart is in anguish within me;
the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
Fear and trembling come upon me,
and horror overwhelms me.
And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and be at rest;
yes, I would wander far away;
I would lodge in the wilderness; Selah
I would hurry to find a shelter
from the raging wind and tempest.”"

Psalm 55:4-8 (ESV)