Psalms of Disorientation

PRN: Pause, Renew, Next

We’re continuing our series on the Psalms and what they teach us about being a human in process. Today, we’re talking about psalms of disorientation. These are songs of darkness, of grief, of anger, of lament, and of complaint. These psalms answer the question of how we might worship and pray when our world is in disarray. Walter Brueggemann writes, “The use of these psalms of darkness may be judged by the world to be acts of unfaith and failure, but for the trusting community, their use is an act of bold faith, albeit a transformed faith.”

As we enter the first week of Advent, the candle signifies hope. We know that in Christ we don’t grieve as those who have no hope. In fact, my favorite quote about psalms of disorientation is, “Because this One has promised to be in the darkness with us, we find the darkness strangely transformed, not by the power of easy light, but by the power of relentless solidarity.”

In this episode, I referenced a previous podcast episode about Authenticity and Attachment. You can find that podcast episode here.

Information and quotes in this episode come from the book, Spirituality of the Psalms by Walter Brueggemann.

May you be encouraged on your journey with Jesus.