“Arise, cry out in the night, at the beginning of the night watches! Pour out your heart like water before the presence of the Lord!” —Lamentations 2:19
When I see pain and suffering, I tend to respond in a myriad of ways. Some days my response is apathy. Some days it’s indifference. And sometimes it’s flat out despair.
But after going from emotion to emotion, I must remember my grounding is found in God’s Word. I have to stop looking inward and look God-ward instead.
That’s exactly what we see in the book of Lamentations, when the prophet Jeremiah wrote to people who had experienced immense suffering. Instead of wallowing in their sorrow or being captivated by their emotions, he told them to look to God. He said, “Cry out in the night. Pour out your heart to the Lord.“
That’s exactly what I want to encourage you to do today. Cry out for the loss, for those who are grieving. Cry out for the burdened. Pour out your heart to God. And more than anything, continuously look to God for salvation and hope. He is our hope.
Make it Personal
Take time to cry out for those around you who are hurting, that they might look to God for salvation and hope.