How are you? Fine.

“I am worn out from groaning; all night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears.”
Psalm 6:6

How many times have we asked or been asked “How are you?” Only to receive or give the same “I’m fine” response when we know we are not fine? More times than we might care to admit I would guess. How many times when we are in distress do we come before God using polite language as if we are trying not to offend? Plenty I am sure. 

The Psalms of lament teach us about the depth of authenticity God desires of our relationship with Him. Logan Jones agrees when he writes: “The laments should be seen as the honest engagement and dialog with God within a covenantal relationship where hurt and pain are acknowledged rather than denied and avoided." The Psalms of lament teach us to be real with God. The God we follow and serve is big enough and strong enough to allow us to pound on His chest in our fear, our anger, our doubt, our confusion and then to hold us gently as we cry in His arms. We see this clearly in the Psalms of lament. 

These Psalms that express the raw emotion of the human experience teach us what it is to fall to our knees in our anguish and to know total dependence on a God that is faithful to respond to the cries of our heart. Can you see David on his knees has he cries out in Psalm 6 “I am worn out from groaning; all night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears. My eyes grow weak with sorrow; they fail because of my foes” (vv. 6-7). 

Yet these Psalms of lament do not leave the psalmist in a state of anguish. The psalmist after expressing his pain and making known his request to God, acknowledges that he can trust God and will praise Him. Can you feel the peace that follows David’s plea in Psalm 13 “But I trust your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, for he has been good to me” (vv. 5-6). 

These Psalms teach us to get real with God. We do not have to approach timidly, we do not have to be polite, we can express our raw emotion and expect a loving response from the One who is worthy of all our praise because He is God. 

These powerful songs are also a model for prayer, prayer that expresses the emotional reality of the human experience both in the midst of the storm and in its moments of victory.

This week, when God’s asks you “how are you?” Don’t respond with the typical “fine” get real with Him.

A Prayer
Father, thank you for wanting to have an authentic relationship with us. Thank you that you will allow us to question the trials we face and demand that You act. Thank you that you allow us to remind You of Your promises. Help us always to be real when we come into Your presence and like the psalmist to praise you just because You are God. In the name of Jesus, Amen.