Grief and weeping
by Mick Hauser
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The Lord has heard the sound of my weeping (Psalm 6:8).
The devotions for the coming week are taken from LCA International Mission’s 2021 ’40 Days – a Lenten Devotion and Prayer Guide’ and are written by mission partners around the world. LCA International Mission invites you to pray for God’s global mission and churches beyond our borders. You can download an electronic copy of the ’40 Days’ guide at the LCA International Mission website or request a printed copy by emailing lcaim@lca.org.au or phoning 08 8267 7330.
Grief is usually accompanied by weeping, but I am sure many people would confess to hiding their tears and stifling their sobbing. We do not like to let people see or hear that we are hurting or in the agony of grief. In grief, we feel vulnerable and naked, often accompanied by feelings of shame. We compound our grief in the private, dark prison cells of our lives. We keep it pent up and unresolved, and we feel hopeless in our grief.
But perhaps you also know that sometimes we just need a good cry. God has created us in such a way that crying actually makes us feel better. Crying releases oxytocin and endogenous opioids (endorphins). These feel-good chemicals help ease both physical and emotional pain. What a gift this is for us. Our tears, like the waters of baptism, provide a salve to ease blinding pain. They make space for hope to emerge so that we might meditate on and call upon the one who has steadfast love for us, Jesus Christ.
In Psalm 6, the songwriter reflects on a long period of private grief, ‘every night I flood my bed with tears’ (verse 6). Three things are ‘turned’ within the poem. Firstly, the psalmist asks the Lord to turn and save his life for the sake of his steadfast love (verse 4). Secondly, the psalmist turns from his moaning. He confidently proclaims that the Lord has heard the sound of his weeping and commands workers of evil to depart from him (verse 8). Lastly, the psalmist displays a prophetic hope that because the Lord has taken to hand his prayer, his enemies will turn back and they will be put to shame (verse 10).
Prayer: Pray that the Lord Jesus Christ will help you to grieve without shame. Pray he will take to hand your prayers, your groaning in grief, the whimpers of your weeping, and the mumblings of your moaning. Pray he will help you through the waters that flow over you, by your tears and in your baptism, to meditate on his steadfast love for you. Pray that he will grant you the hope and confidence to command your foes to depart in the power of his holy name, that your grief may dissipate in the light of his love.
Mick Hauser is the LCA missionary lecturer at Martin Luther Seminary, Lae, Papua New Guinea.
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