"I heard and my heart pounded, my lips quivered at the sound; decay crept into my bones, and my legs trembled. Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity to come on the nation invading us. Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.
The Sovereign Lord is my strength; He makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights." (Habakkuk 3:16-19)
Lamentation is passionate communication with God that expresses things like grief, sorrow, questioning, and anger in times of great suffering (Lamentations 3:1-21).
Lamentations lead to realizations about the horror of sin and the wonder of salvation, both of which are needed to produce a lively and confident confession of faith. "Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him." The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is young." (Lamentations 3:22-27)
Where is God when I suffer? Working toward my good. (Romans 8:28).
Where am I when I am suffering? In a necessary and understandable altered state of mind called lamentation which God is busy correcting for His Glory and my good.
Those that believe God for the ends, believe Him for the means.
