Lord of love, Job cried his litany of losses to You with honesty, in lament. In grief. In depression.
I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul (Job 7:11 ESV).
He told You everything he’s feeling, echoing lament songs You’ve given us to sing to You in our suffering.
How long, O Lord, shall I complain
Like one that seeks his God in vain?
(“How Long, O Lord,” Watts, I., p. d.)
When he cried his litany of losses to people, they didn’t understand and judged him, making everything worse.
My litany of losses is also long.
Lord of love, I give them to You now, for You compassionately care for my soul, my body, my heart, my emotions.
Who understands more than You?
And being in agony [Jesus] prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground (Lk. 22:44 ESV).
Lord of love, I live with this litany of losses…with Jesus
Why is light given to him who is in misery, and life to the bitter in soul, who long for death, but it comes not? (Job 3:20-21 ESV)
In moments when I wonder why You’re keeping me alive rather than bringing me home to Yourself, You remind me. I’m alive, but in union with my alive Jesus, His life on display in me!
So, Lord of love, I cry out my litany of losses…with Jesus
When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled…Jesus wept (Jn. 11:33, 35 ESV).
“My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” And going a little farther, [Jesus] fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will” (Mt. 26:38-39 ESV).
Lord of love, I groan in my litany of losses…with Jesus
Today also my complaint is bitter, my hand is heavy on account of my groaning (Job 23:1 ESV).
And [Jesus] withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed (Lk. 22:41 ESV)…
Canst thou thy face for ever hide,
And I still pray and be denied?
“Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done” (Lk. 22:42 ESV).
But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.
We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed (2 Cor. 4:7-9 ESV, emphasis added).
Lord of love, my soul is poured out to You, the One poured out…for me
And now my soul is poured out within me; days of affliction have taken hold of me…my lyre is turned to mourning, and my pipe to the voice of those who weep (Job 30:16, 31 ESV, emphasis added).
I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint;
my heart is like wax;
it is melted within my breast (Ps. 22:14 ESV, emphasis added)…
for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins (Mt. 26:28 ESV, emphasis added).
But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,
whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace
we might become
heirs according to the hope of eternal life (Titus 3:4-7 ESV, emphasis added).
Lord of love, I praise You, for You are my hope in my litany of losses
How long shall my poor troubled breast
Be with these anxious thoughts oppressed?
And Satan, my malicious foe,
Rejoice to see me sunk so low?
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?
No, IN all these things we are more than conquerors
through him
who loved us (Rom. 8:35, 37 ESV, emphasis added)!
How would the powers of darkness boast
Should but one praying soul be lost!
But I have trusted in thy grace,
And shall again behold thy face.
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.
For this light momentary affliction is
preparing for us
an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen (2 Cor. 4:16-17 ESV)!
Whate’er my fears or foes suggest,
Thou art my hope, my joy, my rest;
My heart shall feel thy love, and raise
My cheerful voice to songs of praise!
Amen!
Material adapted from Singing the Gospel to Job: Finding Hope in Suffering, Lauri A. Hogle, © 2022
Resources of Singing Christ’s Hope
Sister in Christ, if you need ongoing encouragement in your own litany of losses and perhaps depression, I’m empathetically here. What little I can professionally offer (as I also suffer) is based on Scriptural music for us to sing to our Lord of love, as those who are beloved in Christ.
This week’s playlist gift is for us to cry to Him and be renewed in His love once again. See below for the many musical and written resources of this ministry.
For weekly prayer and playlist of Scriptural songs to sing, with access to resource library, sign up here:
To hear Scripture devotional with calming hymn playing, click here for YouTube podcast.
For symptoms of chronic illness, pain, anxiety or depression, a podcast of Scripture and music therapy-inspired worship music
Devotional Bible study prayer journals, available on Amazon. Click for details.
