No-one was more surprised than I was to see Lamentations Song pass 1000 views on YouTube this week.
In honour of this momentous occasion, I feel it is time to review this song again. (I have already blogged about it before, but why not blog about it again?)
There are certain unwritten rules when it comes to blogging about one’s own song. When you write a song blog, you are supposed to write about how profound the song is. Usually you share a personal story about what a tough time you were going through and how God met you in a very special way.
You are supposed to write about how profound your song is.
Lamentations Song was nothing like that for me.
I have always loved that passage* out of Lamentations. You know, the one about God’s mercies being new every morning. Such an uplifting thought. Many people have captured this beautiful sentiment in song.
But it occurred to me that not many people write songs about the rest of Lamentations. There’s a lot of stuff in Lamentations that is not about God’s mercies. Most of it is, in fact, filled with lament. (Bet you didn’t see that one coming.)
There’s a lot of stuff in Lamentations that is not about God’s mercies.
So I thought it would be good to write a song about the lamenting part too, tinged with hope, true to real life. Because this is how most of us actually feel most of the time.
Most of us are not poster Christians, brimming with happiness and miraculous signs and wonders. Most of us work hard, suffer, feel sad, worry, and somehow muddle through the day with perhaps a thought or fleeting prayer cast heavenward at the end.
There’s no shame in that. Most of us are just trying to get by.
With that in mind, I wanted to write a song that reflected our faith more truly, more honestly, more rawly. (Is that even a word?) I didn’t want just another pretty song. I know pretty songs are popular, but I really like songs that reflect real life too.
I really like songs that reflect real life.
Lamentations Song does just that, starting with a day that is heavy and hard to take, and pausing to quietly reflect on hope. It moves back into worry and strife, and then it returns to hope. It celebrates God’s new mercies. Finally, it ends where it began: with a day that is hard to take and with a pause.
Most of us need to catch our breath. Most of us need glimpses of calm, moments of respite, in the midst of our daily busyness and turmoil. I hope that Lamentations Song can be a place of quiet retreat for you.
*This is the passage on which I based Lamentations Song:
“God’s loyal love couldn’t have run out,
His merciful love couldn’t have dried up.
They’re created new every morning.
How great your faithfulness!
I’m sticking with God (I say it over and over).
He’s all I’ve got left.
“God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits,
To the woman who diligently seeks.
It’s a good thing to quietly hope,
Quietly hope for help from God.
It’s a good thing when you’re young
To stick it out through the hard times.
“When life is heavy and hard to take,
Go off by yourself. Enter the silence.
Bow in prayer. Don’t ask questions:
Wait for hope to appear.
Don’t run from trouble. Take it full-face.
The ‘worst’ is never the worst.
“Why? Because the Master won’t ever
Walk out and fail to return.
If he works severely, he also works tenderly.
His stockpiles of loyal love are immense.” (Lamentations 3:22-32 MSG)
Does this passage speak to you? Has God used Lamentations Song to touch your life? Share your story – let’s have a countercultural conversation.