How many of you have (or had) the routine of expressing your “Highs” and “Lows” at dinner time with your family? I laugh now when I remember asking my kids at dinner what there highs and lows of the day were. Some days there were no highs and only lows while other days held only highs! Life…full of ups and downs, joys and sorrows. I could ramble on about my ups and downs and I am sure we can all lament over the “downs” of the past year. The Psalms are easy to relate with because they describe the extremes, the highs and the lows.
In Psalm 44, we read a Psalm of lament. A lament is a passionate expression of grief and sorrow. It is a wailing, a groaning, a moaning, and a weeping grieving great loss. Psalm 44 laments the defeat of Israel by its enemies and calls upon the Lord to deliver His people from a great national suffering.
Sometimes we experience suffering for what seems like no apparent fault of our own. Suffering doesn’t always mean we are being punished or disciplined by God for something we did wrong. This Psalm is an example of the people calling out to God to deliver them, just as He promised He would do.
Even through our “Lows” and disappointments in life, Psalm 44 shows us that we can express ourselves to the Lord and be honest with Him about our feelings. We can cry out to Him,
“Awake, Lord! Why do you sleep? Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever. Why do you hide your face and forget our misery and oppression?”
Psalm 44:23-24
This is our petition to God as we experience the lows of our life and lament to Him. Even in our sorrow, we can express our trust and faith in Him.
In God we make our boast all day long, and we will praise your name forever.
Psalm 44:8