Exploring how the Bible - through the psalms of lament and the book of Lamentations - gives voice to our pain, this book invites us to grieve, struggle, and tap into the rich reservoir of grace and mercy God offers in the darkest moments of our lives.
Lament is how you live between the poles of a hard life and trusting God's goodness. Lament is how we bring our sorrow to God - but it is a neglected dimension of the Christian life for many Christians today. We need to recover the practice of honest spiritual struggle that gives us permission to vocalize our pain and wrestle with our sorrow. Lament avoids trite answers and quick solutions, progressively moving us toward deeper worship and trust.
Exploring how the Bible - through the psalms of lament and the book of Lamentations - gives voice to our pain, this book invites us to grieve, struggle, and tap into the rich reservoir of grace and mercy God offers in the darkest moments of our lives.
Foreword: Joni Eareckson Tada
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Life in a Minor Key | A Personal Journey
Part 1: Learning to Lament | Psalms of Lament
1. Keep Turning to Prayer | Psalm 77
2. Bring Your Complaints | Psalm 10
3. Ask Boldly | Psalm 22
4. Choose to Trust | Psalm 13
Part 2: Learning from Lament | Lamentations
5. A Broken World and a Holy God | Lamentations 1-2
6. Hope Springs from Truth Rehearsed | Lamentations 3
7. Unearthing Idols | Lamentations 4
8. A Roadmap to Grace | Lamentations 5
Part 3: Living with Lament | Personal and Community Applications
9. Making Lament Personal
10. Let Us Lament
Conclusion: Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy | The Journey Ahead
Appendix 1 Twenty Complaints
Appendix 2 Psalms of Lament
Appendix 3 Learning-to-Lament Worksheet Appendix 4 But, Yet, And
Bibliography
General Index
Scripture Index
| Contributors | Joni Eareckson Tada |
|---|---|
| ISBN | 9781433561481 |
| Format | Paperback |
| First published | March 2019 |
| Dimensions | 133mm x 203mm x 14mm |
| Weight | 0.24 kg |
| Language | English |
| Pages | 224 |
| Publisher | Crossway |
I had never read a book like this before. If you are hurting or trying to help someone who is, or if you are attempting to lead your church to recover and experience what God’s Word teaches about lament, this is a book you will want to read.
Born in a father’s grief and marked with a pastor’s wisdom, Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy teaches each of us and the church how to pray along the journey of loss and despair. Vroegop presents biblical guidelines for bringing honest complaint and bold petition before God and for choosing to steadfastly trust in the One whose mercies never end.
Too often Christians feel the pressure to pretend the gospel diminishes pain, while others lament their pain void of biblical truth and hope. I have longed for years for a book to demonstrate a balance on this issue. Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy captures beautifully the unique and powerful grace of the gospel in Christian lament. The book is well written, winsome, and refreshingly transparent. I wept as I read it.
As I had started introducing my counsellees to the concept of lament I felt the need to dig into it further myself. This book exceeded my expectations. However I long for a short version that covers the main points that are summarised on pages 159-160 that could be lent to someone hurting who could not manage a comprehensive tome like this because they are still in a dark place struggling. Please could the author consider a mimi version like this. I can think of people I long to give that to.
Whether it is a significantly difficult season or just a tiredness of living in a broken world that causes you to struggle, or even if you want to think more about how the gospel can speak to our hurting world, read this book and discover the precious gift out Heavenly Father has given us to express the pain our hearts feel this side of Heaven. It is readable and applicable... imagine if in 2021 we rediscovered lament and let that shape our witness to a broken world. Find a friend or a spouse, or a book group and read it together, let lament enrich our love of our precious Saviour and confidence in His Sovereign control on our lives.
