We live in a world fractured by sin, and every one of us feels the weight of that brokenness. Grief, suffering, sickness, injustice, loneliness, and death were never part of God’s good design for creation, yet they are realities we all encounter in a fallen world. In suffering, many Christians assume that mature faith should always sound victorious. We feel pressure to move quickly past grief and into gratitude, past sorrow and into joy. But sometimes life feels unbearably hard.

However, what we see modeled for us in Scripture is something very different. The Bible shows the people of God crying out from places of grief, confusion, fear, waiting, and deep sorrow. Scripture does not ignore suffering or teach us to pretend we are unaffected by it. Instead, God invites His people to bring their pain honestly before Him.

Lament is not the absence of faith. It is an expression of faith in seasons of suffering.

Lament is one of God’s good gifts to His people. It is how we bring our sadness, our fear, and our confusion to the God who sees and hears. Lament gives God’s people language to carry sorrow into His presence while still clinging to His character and promises.

Throughout Scripture, God not only welcomes lament but also gives His people a pattern for it. We see His people cry out to Him, tell Him what hurts, ask for help, remember what is true about His character, and ultimately end in praise.

Cry Out to God

One of the clearest places we see lament is in the life of David. Before David was a king, he was a shepherd who spent long nights beneath open skies watching sheep. David’s life was not marked only by victory and courage. There were seasons when enemies hunted him, fear followed him into caves, and grief weighed heavily on his soul. Whether through his own sin or the sins of others, David knew what it felt like to suffer.

Throughout the Psalms, we find David crying out to God in the middle of fear, confusion, waiting, and sorrow. In fact, nearly one-third of the Psalms are prayers of lament. God did not only give His people songs for celebration and victory. He also gave them words for suffering. For example, David cries out in Psalm 13, “How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?” (Psalm 13:1a, ESV).

David did not wait until his circumstances improved before coming to God. He brought his grief honestly before the Lord as he experienced it. One of the most comforting truths in Scripture is that God does not turn away from grieving people. He meets them with compassion in the middle of their sorrow.

Tell God What Hurts

Crying out to God is where biblical lament begins, but it does not end there. God also invites His people to tell Him what hurts.

David knew this well. Though God had anointed him to be king, he spent years fleeing from Saul and hiding in caves. At times, the tension between God’s promises and his circumstances must have felt unbearable. But rather than hiding his sorrow, David brought it honestly before God.

In Psalm 142, David says, “With my voice I cry out to the LORD; with my voice I plead for mercy to the LORD. I pour out my complaint before him; I tell my trouble before him.” (Psalm 142:1–2, ESV).

David did not hide his grief behind polished, spiritual language. He brought the full weight of his sorrow, confusion, and waiting before the Lord. Telling God what hurts means naming the pain instead of hiding it. It means bringing our grief and questions before Him.

Many Christians fear that honest questions somehow reflect weak faith. Yet throughout Scripture, we see hurting people pouring out their grief before God. Hagar cried out in the wilderness when she felt abandoned and unseen. Job questioned God in his suffering. Hannah poured out her grief before the Lord through tears. Their stories remind us that lament is not a failure of faith but one of the ways faith expresses deep dependence upon God.

The pattern of lament was not only practiced by the people of God throughout Scripture but was ultimately modeled by Christ Himself. As Jesus hung on the cross, He cried out the opening words of Psalm 22: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46, ESV).

Jesus did not choose those words by accident. He prayed words already shaped by suffering. Yet Psalm 22 does not end in despair. It moves toward trust in the faithfulness of God. This is what makes Christian lament different from hopeless grief. Lament is honest about suffering, but it refuses to let suffering have the final word.

Ask God for Help

Biblical lament does not end with expressing sorrow. God also invites His people to ask Him for help. Throughout the Psalms, David cries out for God to rescue and sustain him. Lament begins with honest dependence upon God. It is dependent prayer born from deep need.

The Christian life was never meant to be lived in self-sufficiency. God is not bothered by our weakness or surprised by our need. He invites His people to come to Him again and again. Asking God for help is not weakness; it is an act of trust.

In Psalm 31, David prays, “Listen closely to me; rescue me quickly” (Psalm 31:2). David asked God to draw near, to listen, and to act. His prayers reveal a heart that had learned to depend upon the Lord in suffering.

The Apostle Paul experienced this personally. In 2 Corinthians, Paul pleaded with God to remove what he called a “thorn in the flesh” (2 Corinthians 12:7). Yet God answered him not by removing the suffering but by reminding Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Sometimes God changes our circumstances. Other times, He gives us grace to endure them. In both cases, He remains faithful.

Remember What’s True About God

Biblical lament also calls God’s people to remember what is true about Him. This is what makes lament distinctly Christian. We do not grieve without hope. Even in suffering, the people of God anchor themselves in the unchanging nature of God.

After David cries out in Psalm 13, he later says, “But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation” (Psalm 13:5, ESV).

David’s circumstances had not changed, yet he reminded his heart of what is true about God. Remembering what is true does not mean pretending everything is okay. It means anchoring ourselves to who God is even when our circumstances have not changed.

Throughout the Psalms, sorrow and remembrance sit side by side. Even while grief remains present, the psalmists remind themselves of the faithfulness, mercy, and nearness of God. His character does not change when our lives do. He is still faithful, merciful, attentive, and near to the brokenhearted.

End with Praise

Praise is not the opposite of lament. Praise is the goal of lament.

Throughout the Psalms of lament, David repeatedly moves from grief to praise. This does not mean his suffering suddenly disappeared. Rather, praise became an act of trust rooted in who God is rather than in David’s circumstances.

We see this clearly in Psalm 42, when David says: “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God” (Psalm 42:11, ESV).

David does not ignore his sorrow. He speaks honestly about his despair while also reminding his soul where hope is found. Even in the middle of grief, David lifts his eyes toward the Lord. This is what praise does in lament. Praise is not denying pain or pretending everything is okay. It is choosing to anchor our hearts in the character of God while trusting that He is still at work in the midst of our suffering.

Ultimately, the movement from lament to praise finds its foundation in the gospel itself. Jesus Christ, the Man of Sorrows, entered fully into the suffering and brokenness of a fallen world in order to redeem it. In the garden, He prayed with deep anguish, and on the cross He cried out the lament-filled opening of Psalm 22.

However, the cross is not the end of the story. Through His resurrection, Christ conquered sin and death, securing eternal hope for His people. Because of Jesus, Christians do not grieve as those without hope. We lament while holding firmly to the promise that suffering, sin, and death will not have the final word. Revelation 21 reminds us that one day, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away (Revelation 21:4).

This is the hope that anchors Christian lament. So when suffering comes, do not withdraw from God. Bring your sorrow honestly before Him. Cry out to Him, ask for help, remember what is true, and let your heart begin to praise again.

You are not unseen in your suffering or abandoned in your grief. The God who formed you, redeemed you, and sustains you is still near to the brokenhearted, and because of Christ, He will hold His people fast until the day that sorrow finally gives way to joy.

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Author Bio

Shanna Dinsmore is a writer, Bible teacher, and podcast host who creates gospel-centered resources to help women know God, love His Word, and walk with Him in every season. She is passionate about helping women engage Scripture for themselves and currently lives in Dallas, Texas, with her husband and two children. You can connect with Shanna at shannadinsmore.com.

Additional Resources:

Peaks and Valleys | A Study on the Life of David		Trust | Psalms 121-150		Between Grief and Glory | Digital Study		Even If | A Bible Study of Habakkuk		Job Bible Study
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