A day between - we are caught in the balance… Christmas has stilled to a hush, but the fireworks of the New Year have yet to spark. And in this lull, perhaps, you have found an unpleasant space for the griefs of this year to bubble to the surface yet again.

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Today, rather than pushing them down to be dealt with after the holidays, what if you made space today to lament them? To lament (and perhaps even release) all that was missed or lost or a “not yet” in 2025. What if you held space for this today with the Lord?

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One of the most uncomfortable reads in the whole of Scripture (and there are many) is the small book of Lamentations. These five chapters of poetic prayer from the prophet Jeremiah as he dealt with the grief, anger, and pain of the Babylonian exile are some of the most raw in all of Scripture. And yet - in the center of his griefs, in the middle of chapter 3, Jeremiah comes up to the surface for a breath of hope. This is my prayer for you today, too.

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What if you allowed yourself to lament all the things that should have been but were not in 2025? Loved ones lost, hopes dashed, opportunities missed - whatever it is for you…What if you lamented it today? Lament is a prayer practice where we get to bring all our hardest emotions TO God, instead of shutting him out because of them. We get to hold them up to him in all their ugliness and say, “God, look at this! It’s not right. It’s not okay. God, please do something about this!” And no matter what he speaks to us as we do, we get to be close to the Comforter as we wrestle, rather than far from him.

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This is what Jeremiah does - and through his lamenting, he actually finds himself drawing closer to God. After 3 chapters of ugly, Jeremiah finds himself here, in Chapter 3, verses 19-33:

I remember my affliction and my wandering,
   the bitterness and the gall.

I well remember them,
   and my soul is downcast within me.

Yet this I call to mind
   and therefore I have hope:

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
   for his compassions never fail.

They are new every morning;
   great is your faithfulness.

I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;
   therefore I will wait for him.”

The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,
   to the one who seeks him;

it is good to wait quietly
   for the salvation of the Lord.

It is good for a man to bear the yoke
   while he is young.

Let him sit alone in silence,
   for the Lord has laid it on him.

Let him bury his face in the dust—
   there may yet be hope.

Let him offer his cheek to one who would strike him,
   and let him be filled with disgrace.

For no one is cast off
   by the Lord forever.

Though he brings grief, he will show compassion,
   so great is his unfailing love.

For he does not willingly bring affliction
   or grief to anyone. (NIV)

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Consider writing or speaking your prayers of lament right now - tell God about all the things that are not right in your world, the things that were lost, or the things that should not have been this year. Say it all, unfiltered, and after you find that you’ve nothing left to tell him, come back to the passage above and let it be your prayer that affirms the truth of who our God is, even when all is not as it should be.

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I pray blessings over your prayer time with the Lord today - Amen.