Episode 109: Permission to lament, permission to praise

You know the social ritual. When someone greets us, they often ask how we’re doing; in response, we usually say, “Fine”—and may feel like it would be bad manners to say anything else. But of course, we’re not always “fine.” The psalms teach us that the emotional side of the life of faith doesn’t classify neatly into praise or lament; sometimes we praise in the midst of lament, and sometimes we lament in the midst of praise. Psalm 40 is instructive in that regard: the psalmist remembers God’s past goodness and continues to find refuge in God even when crying out for help.