By Fr. Daniel Pinell
Dr. Russell Moore shares in his book Adoption for Life, where he advocates that Christians should make adoption more of a priority, how surprised he was at the silence found in a Russian orphanage he visited. He found the silence eerie. The babies never cried, not because they were not hungry or in need of anything. They never cried because they had slowly learned that nobody cared if they did.
This heartbreaking story illustrates a point of Lament: Lament is proof of a relationship. Children who cry are the ones confident in the love of their caregiver.
When the Israelite's brought their Lament in the psalms and other writings, they did so because they were confident in the conventional relationship they have with God. God, as their caregiver, promised provision and care for His people. When His people were in trouble, they cried, or lamented to God, not because they did not trust in His love for them, but because they believed He would respond. The fact that they lamented proves the intimacy of their relationship with God.
Lament is much more than complaining. A lament is a cry for help to a caregiver to provide for a situation they are unable to provide for themselves. It is proof of a conventional and loving relationship with God.
