Shout to God
How are you feeling?
Psalm 42:1
Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy.
I found myself scoffing at this Psalm. Joy feels scarce these days. And frankly, recently, the last thing I have wanted to do is clap my hands or shout with joy.
If you're anything like me, you might want to throw your hands up in despair and scream at the sky. So much of our faith feels bound to joy, celebration, and victory, but there are seasons where lament is just as holy, maybe even more so. Lament is the prayer that says, “I don’t have it all figured out, and I’m hurting.” Lament gives us space to be angry, to name the injustice of our world- It is messy, raw, and vulnerable—and God still hears it, and holds it all.
I scoffed at this Psalm because it felt a bit like a rebuke, but it also reminds me, reminds us, that God is with us, even and especially in our anger and lament.
Shouting can be a prayer too.
Check-in with yourself – how are you feeling, where are you holding tension? Where are you holding anger or anxiety? What would it feel like to shout to God?