Dear Saints of Valley Church,
In John Bunyan’s classic allegory of the Christian life, The Pilgrim’s Progress, Christian and his companion Hopeful are captured by Giant Despair and imprisoned in the dark dungeon of Doubting Castle. Bunyan writes, “Here, then, they lay from Wednesday morning till Saturday night, without one bit of bread, or drop of drink, or light, or any to ask how they did; they were, therefore, here in evil case, and were far from friends and acquaintance.” In the morning, the giant would beat them without mercy, insult them, and tell them that they would never get out of Dungeon Despair, so they should just end their own lives.
Bunyan was able to describe the depths of despair because of his personal experience. Bunyan was imprisoned for twelve years due to his refusal to stop preaching the gospel without a license. He was separated from his wife and six children, one of them suffering from blindness. At one point, Bunyan wrote, “I found myself a man encompassed with infirmities; the parting with my Wife and poor Children hath often been to me in this place as the pulling of the flesh from the bones.”[1] And Bunyan is not alone as one who experiences the despair, pain, suffering, and doubt we all experience as we’re pilgrims in this sin-cursed world. What should we do with our grief, our sorrows, our doubts? What will give voice to my sorrow? God’s Word can give voice to our sorrows, our pains, and our doubts. Of the 150 Psalms, more than 1/3 of them are “Psalms of Lament,” Psalms that express sorrows and doubts, Psalms that give voice to the tough questions we ask in our hearts (for an excellent resource for using these Psalms of Lament as a model for how to walk through suffering, see Mark Vroegop’s Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament). In Psalm 22, the Psalmist even begins by crying out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” But Psalm 22 doesn’t leave us in Dungeon Despair. Psalm 22 models how we can bring our complaints to God so that we can find our confidence in God. Like Christian and Hopeful, we have the Key of Promise in our pocket that unlocks the door to Doubting Castle and leads us back on the King’s Highway.
Come join us Sunday morning, especially if you feel like you’ve spent your week in Dungeon Despair, as we gather to hear God’s merciful Word of lament together, as we remind one another of God’s good character by singing to one another (two of our songs will be Lord, I Need You and Jesus Paid it All), and as we follow Jesus together by weeping with those who weep and by bearing one another’s burdens.
By His strength and for His glory,
Craig Shigyo
[1] Quoted from Bunyan’s Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners, in “Key of Promise” from Ligonier Ministries, https://learn.ligonier.org/devotionals/key-of-promise.