Mark Vroegop > Quotes

“You might think lament is the opposite of praise. It isn’t. Instead, lament is a path to praise as we are led through our brokenness and disappointment.6 The space between brokenness and God’s mercy is where this song is sung. Think of lament as the transition between pain and promise. It is the path from heartbreak to hope.”
― Mark Vroegop, Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament

“The lament of Good Friday was answered three days later with the empty tomb. The greatest injustice in history became the greatest display of divine mercy. Tragedy became triumph. Lament was the voice in between.”
― Mark Vroegop, Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament

“When brokenness becomes your life, lament helps you turn to God. It lifts your head and turns your tear-filled eyes toward the only hope you have: God's grace.”
― Mark Vroegop, Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament

“To cry is human, but to lament is Christian.”
― Mark Vroegop, Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament

“But lament is different. The practice of lament—the kind that is biblical, honest, and redemptive—is not as natural for us, because every lament is a prayer. A statement of faith. Lament is the honest cry of a hurting heart wrestling with the paradox of pain and the promise of God’s goodness.”
― Mark Vroegop, Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament

“After a few encouraging words, he closed with a statement that has become an anchor for my soul and often my target in lament: “Keep trusting the One who keeps you trusting.”
― Mark Vroegop, Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament

“Lament is the language that helps you believe catastrophe can become eucatastrophe. It vocalizes the pain of the moment while believing that help is on the way. Lament gives us hope because it gives us a glimpse of truth.”
― Mark Vroegop, Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament

“Prayerful lament is better than silence. However, I've found that many people are afraid of lament. They find it too honest, too open, or too risky. But there's something far worse: silent despair. Giving God the silent treatment is the ultimate manifestation of unbelief. Despair lives under the hopeless resignation that God doesn't care, he doesn't hear, and nothing is ever going to change. People who believe this stop praying, they give up. This silence is a soul killer.”
― Mark Vroegop, Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament

“Waiting requires living by what I know to be true about God when I don’t know what’s true about my life.”
― Mark Vroegop, Waiting Isn't a Waste: The Surprising Comfort of Trusting God in the Uncertainties of Life

“Every lament is a prayer; a statement of faith”
― Mark Vroegop, Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament

“Finding an explanation or a quick solution for grief, while an admirable goal, can circumvent the opportunity afforded in lament—to give a person permission to wrestle with sorrow instead of rushing to end it. Walking through sorrow without understanding and embracing the God-given song of lament can stunt the grieving process.”
― Mark Vroegop, Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament

“At some point in the future, the final word will be spoken. God is going to intervene, and lament is one of the ways we defiantly say, 'This is not over!' In fact, the pain that causes lament can create a longing for the future like nothing else. Maybe you need to put this book down and thank the Lord that 'this is not over.' Christians long for the day when faith shall be sight. Until then, we lament by faith.”
― Mark Vroegop, Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament

“Lament can be defined as a loud cry, a howl, or a passionate expression of grief. However, in the Bible lament is more than sorrow or talking about sadness. It is more than walking through the stages of grief. Lament is a prayer in pain that leads to trust.”
― Mark Vroegop, Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament

“Waiting on God is living on what I know to be true about God when I don’t know what’s true about my life.”
― Mark Vroegop, Waiting Isn't a Waste: The Surprising Comfort of Trusting God in the Uncertainties of Life

“The daily provision of manna created a vital lesson. It appears in the New Testament in the Lord’s Prayer: “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matt. 6:11). The idea is simple and yet profound: God provides what we need on his timeline. He gives daily bread. He provides daily grace. You can’t buy manna in bulk.”
― Mark Vroegop, Waiting Isn't a Waste: The Surprising Comfort of Trusting God in the Uncertainties of Life

“Lament is how we learn to live between the poles of a hard life and God’s goodness. It is an opportunity to remind our hearts about God’s faithfulness in the past, especially when the immediate events of life are overwhelmingly negative. While we’re still in pain, lament reminds our hearts of what we believe to be true.”
― Mark Vroegop, Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament

“Christians affirm that the world is broken, God is powerful, and he will be faithful. Therefore, lament stands in the gap between pain and promise.”
― Mark Vroegop, Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament

“lament invites us to grieve and trust, to struggle and believe.”
― Mark Vroegop, Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament

“Pray the Bible”
― Mark Vroegop, Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament

“To pray in pain, even with its messy struggle and tough questions, is an act of faith where we open up our hearts to God. Prayerful lament is better than silence.”
― Mark Vroegop, Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament

“they frequently missed or ignored the concept of lament. Finding an explanation or a quick solution for grief, while an admirable goal, can circumvent the opportunity afforded in lament—to give a person permission to wrestle with sorrow instead of rushing to end it. Walking through sorrow without understanding and embracing the God-given song of lament can stunt the grieving process.”
― Mark Vroegop, Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament

“Lament is a prayer in pain that leads to trust.”
― Mark Vroegop, Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament

“El lamento en oración es mejor que el silencio.”
― Mark Vroegop, Nubes oscuras, misericordia profunda: Descubre la gracia de Dios en el lamento

“For the Christian, the exodus event—the place where we find ultimate deliverance—is the cross of Christ. This is where all our questions—our heartaches and pain—should be taken. The cross shows us that God has already proven himself to be for us and not against us.”
― Mark Vroegop, Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament

“I wonder how many believers stop speaking to God about their pain. Disappointed by unanswered prayers or frustrated by out-of-control circumstances, these people wind up in a spiritual desert unable—or refusing—to talk to God. This silence is a soul killer.”
― Mark Vroegop, Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament

“Complaint is central to lament. But Christians never complain just to complain. Instead, we bring our complaints to the Lord for the purpose of moving us toward him. We allow the honest opening of our souls to become a doorway to the other elements of lament.”
― Mark Vroegop, Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament

“As Nicholas Wolterstorff says in his book Lament for a Son: “I shall look at the world through tears. Perhaps I shall see things that dry-eyed I could not see.”
― Mark Vroegop, Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament

“Lament is how you live between the poles of a hard life and trusting in God’s sovereignty.”
― Mark Vroegop, Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament

“Honestly praying this way recognizes that pain and suffering often create difficult emotions that are not based upon truth but feel true, nonetheless.”
― Mark Vroegop, Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament

“Every human being has the same opening story. Life begins with tears. It’s simply a part of what it means to be human—to cry is human.”
― Mark Vroegop, Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament