--- title: The Humanness and Faithfulness of Lament date: 2026-09-29T07:00:00-05:00 author: Jennifer Vermeer canonical_url: "https://www.dordt.edu/in-all-things/the-humanness-and-faithfulness-of-lament" section: In All Things --- [ View All Articles](https://www.dordt.edu/in-all-things) [Essays](https://www.dordt.edu/in-all-things?category=essays) Sep 29, 2026 # The Humanness and Faithfulness of Lament By [Sierra Pearson](https://www.dordt.edu/people/sierra-pearson) ![](https://d3evso2dxyohou.cloudfront.net/generalUploads/iat-humanness-lament.jpg?mode=crop&pos=center-center&w=66&h=57&f=webp&c=897389cd&v=85059ace3859a53a962ce708ab93261715fa1ca81f559f58e57871479a086b28) ![]()The most poignant moment of lament in my life was the day the doctor told my husband and I that our son may be severely disabled. As if it was just yesterday, I can picture our three-week-old son in the hospital crib hooked up to numerous cords, tubes, and beeping machines keeping him alive. My husband and I sat in the chairs next to the crib as the doctor gave us the devastating test results. When she walked out the door, my husband and I both started weeping. And then the weeping turned into wailing. I was sure that the guttural sounds coming from our bodies, our throats, our hearts could be heard on the other end of the hospital wing. But right then, I did not care. This was what my body and my heart needed. This was the most human thing we could do in this moment of disbelief, fear, and deep sadness. In Mark 5, we see people weeping and wailing outside of the house of Jairus. They were doing this out on the street in front of everyone as if it were the most natural thing in the world (Mark 5:35-38). In a world full of trial, sin, sickness, and death, weeping and wailing is a natural human response. While it may not seem like it at first, lament is a gift that brings us closer to the God “of all comfort” (1 Cor. 1:3). The language of lament is a gift God gives us throughout Scripture to show us that to lament is to be human. To lament is to cling to God’s promises to be with us through the worst life can bring. In this language of faithfulness, we cry out to the God in whom we trust instead of remaining in silence and mistrust. > We lean into faith when we lament, because to lament is to believe in the God who hears our cries. Lament is not just a complaint but a conversation with the One who holds all things together. We lean into faith when we lament, because to lament is to believe in the God who hears our cries. Why would we lament if there is no one who hears and cares? Just as Jacob wrestled with God in the dark until the break of dawn (Gen. 32:22-32), when we lament we wrestle with the Lord and say, “Be with me. Don’t let me go. Be the God to me that you say you are. This does not feel good, but be good to me!” Throughout my adult life, I have had to return to the language of lament many times over. While my son is healthier than his initial prognosis, his life—from genetic test results, developmental delays, and eventually an autism diagnosis—has been filled with both big and little laments. Most recently, grief and lament have come to my life as I walked with a dear friend on her journey with a very aggressive cancer and eventually to her death bed. Lament in those days, weeks, and months looked more like anger than sadness. With my son I felt the sadness of lost expectations and hopes for his life, but with my friend’s death I felt the injustice of death more keenly. In the months after her death, the question, “Why?” was my most prominent form of lament. Why did she have to die? Why did she have to die so young and leave her husband and young children behind? Why did her family have to say goodbye so soon? Why did I have to lose one of my longest and closest friends? When the hard things in this life don’t make sense, we need the questions of lament to bring us back to the God who can hold the hardest of our emotions and questions. ![](https://d3evso2dxyohou.cloudfront.net/generalUploads/patchy-road-culdesac-with-lower-end-houses-downward-rooftop-aerial-view.jpg?mode=fit&pos=center-center&w=57&h=65&c=b94267a1&v=6cc31bbeb0feb1648573e0e4041d73eab4523348f3d94f6b18ebcac29f14c9aa) While the language of lament provides a direction for our grief and cries to move, "The destination for all laments is an affirmation of trust in God…Laments are not cul-de-sacs of sorrow, but conduits for renewed faith.”\[1\] The psalmist, King David, writes in Psalm 22, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?” (Ps. 22:1 ESV). Even the man after God’s own heart (1 Sam. 13:14) cries out to the Lord with the most human question, “Why, Lord?” But before God ever answers David’s lamenting prayer, David praises the Lord for who He is, “Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them” (Ps. 22:3-4). Before David ever receives a reply, he preaches the truth to himself, because that is what lament does–it leads us to the true heart of God and His loving care for us. The language of lament is necessary in a world that is not how it was meant to be. In a world full of disappointment, death, natural disasters, horrible accidents, illness and disease, and senseless wars, the people of God need a language that leads us to the throne room of God without fear. If this world were whole, there would be no need for lament, but since we still await the return of Christ when all things will be made new, we process our pain and grow closer to the Lord through our prayers of lament. Romans 8:23 says, “Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies.” We lament with the hope of the life to come, where there will be no more sin, sickness, death, tragedy, or pain. Without the hope of a beautiful eternal life with the Lord, the language of lament turns into despair. It is because we know our future destination that the people of God can lament freely and with hope. Someday the language of lament will cease and turn into the language of joy and thankfulness for our loving and sovereign Lord forever. In the language of lament, we await that glorious day. --- **References:** 1. ## Related Articles [### Love Beyond Measure How does faith shape our capacity to love? In this story, a mother reflects on how God's grace unfolds in the midst of an unexpected diagnosis. Learn More ](https://www.dordt.edu/in-all-things/love-beyond-measure) [### How Do I Care for Those Who Are Dying? A pastor shares his experience of sitting with the dying, finding that true ministry is not in offering answers, but in offering presence, comfort, and the hope of resurrection through Christ. Learn More ](https://www.dordt.edu/in-all-things/how-do-i-care-for-those-who-are-dying) ## Get the Newsletter Subscribe to the In All Things newsletter to receive biweekly updates with the latest content. ![](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==) ![](https://d3evso2dxyohou.cloudfront.net/generalUploads/i-pGGqLGs-X3_2024-11-13-195007.jpg?mode=fit&pos=center-center&w=50&h=50&c=bc00656c&v=e62248e5eafc8148fb71cd9e499265bf439690ef7d9aed43b8b6fbdad8b7d04a) ![](https://d3evso2dxyohou.cloudfront.net/generalUploads/people/IMG_2711_Original.jpg?mode=crop&pos=top-center&w=25&h=25&f=webp&c=41253201&v=c936df32381d4a89938df54964d171ce71e6a341d244b5d4ea9efa006a6a5bab) ### About the Author Sierra Pearson Sierra Pearson lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado with her husband, Josh, and their two children (9 and 11). Both she and Josh graduated from Dordt in 2012. She currently works part-time as the music director for their church and is also pursuing her M.A. in Educational Ministries through Covenant Theological Seminary (St. Louis, MO). When she isn't driving kids around town or studying, she enjoys listening to vintage records, playing board games with her family, and tending to her dahlia garden. [Learn More ](https://www.dordt.edu/people/sierra-pearson) --- [Next Article ![](https://d3evso2dxyohou.cloudfront.net/generalUploads/iat-persevere.jpg?mode=crop&pos=center-center&w=56&h=33&f=webp&c=92e9955f&v=b34e76386877cb32782f30fa8d31aa32b02050b2bfe555061404c609f088d2e9) Essays Sep 25, 2026 ## How Then Shall You Persevere? By Cailee Pastoor Read More ](https://www.dordt.edu/in-all-things/how-then-shall-you-persevere) [ ![]() ## In All Things View Articles ](https://www.dordt.edu/in-all-things)