Lamenting versus Complaining

There will be days that pierce you....days that hurt...days we all must lament, when you must cry - but never deny the goodness of God. ~ Ann Voskamp

la·ment/ləˈment/

Noun:

A passionate expression of grief.

com·plain/kəmˈplān/

Verb:

Express dissatisfaction or annoyance about a state of affairs or an event.

Complaining focuses on the problem rather than the solution, puts people off helping us, dishonors any work Christ may be doing in our situation and keeps us stuck in the hurt.

Lamenting honors God, honors our feelings and allows us to receive help both from God and those who hear our lament.

I have become the laughingstock of all peoples, the burden of their songs all day long. He has filled me with bitterness, he has sated me with wormwood. He has made my teeth grind on gravel, and made me cower in ashes; my soul is bereft of peace, I have forgotten what happiness is; so I say, "Gone is my glory, and my expectation from the LORD." Remember my affliction and my bitterness, the wormwood and the gall! My soul continually thinks of it and is bowed down within me.
But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness. "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him." The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. (Lamentations 3:14-26)

Whenever you are about to howl to the heavens, “I don’t deserve this!”, close your eyes and remember Christ hanging on the cross and say it again aloud, “I don’t deserve this.” ~ Ann Voskamp