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Even in the Darkest Hour: Lament as a Path to God
For many of us, faith and hard work are often seen as the keys to overcoming challenges. But what does it look like to stay faithful when “more faith” and “more work” do not make things better? What does one say when one cannot express praise? How do we maintain connection to God from within our pain?
In Even in the Darkest Hour, Michael Huston illustrates how a close relationship with God is premised on including sincere, faithful expressions of our frustration, anger, and pain. With captivating insight and drawing from a rich scriptural history, Michael Huston helps us to understand that lament—faithfully taking our complaints to God—has the power to transform us, our families, and our communities by anticipating deliverance and opening the possibility for newness in our lives.
In Even in the Darkest Hour, Michael Huston illustrates how a close relationship with God is premised on including sincere, faithful expressions of our frustration, anger, and pain. With captivating insight and drawing from a rich scriptural history, Michael Huston helps us to understand that lament—faithfully taking our complaints to God—has the power to transform us, our families, and our communities by anticipating deliverance and opening the possibility for newness in our lives.
168 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 1, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
December 19, 2025
5/5 not because it was a page-turner, it wasn’t, it took me months to get through, but the content and insight was exceptional. The idea that “lament is worship just as much as praise is.” Was a beautiful mindset shift for me. So many good thoughts.
“Lament is the vehicle that allows us to worship from within our suffering.”
“God is strong enough to be our God in all seasons of life.”
“There is nothing faithless about clinging to covenant through lament.”
“And the fact that sadness, sorrow, grief, and pain are in our sacred text should signal to us that there is something about those feelings which makes them just as sacred as their more pleasant counterparts.”
“But this was not something that Adam and Eve tried to avoid; it was a reality that Adam and Eve both acknowledged and embraced (see Moses 5:11). Life would necessarily be hard and sometimes sorrowful, and that was part of the plan.”
“Lament is when we take our anger and confusion to God, and, by so doing, that anger and confusion become sacred. Lament is our lifeline when the storm is more than we think we can bear.”
“Lament serves as a lifeline for those in pain. Lament is how those who are tempest-tossed in the ocean of life’s journey tie themselves to the deck of the ship of faith”
“Lament is the vehicle that allows us to worship from within our suffering.”
“God is strong enough to be our God in all seasons of life.”
“There is nothing faithless about clinging to covenant through lament.”
“And the fact that sadness, sorrow, grief, and pain are in our sacred text should signal to us that there is something about those feelings which makes them just as sacred as their more pleasant counterparts.”
“But this was not something that Adam and Eve tried to avoid; it was a reality that Adam and Eve both acknowledged and embraced (see Moses 5:11). Life would necessarily be hard and sometimes sorrowful, and that was part of the plan.”
“Lament is when we take our anger and confusion to God, and, by so doing, that anger and confusion become sacred. Lament is our lifeline when the storm is more than we think we can bear.”
“Lament serves as a lifeline for those in pain. Lament is how those who are tempest-tossed in the ocean of life’s journey tie themselves to the deck of the ship of faith”
June 25, 2024
This book shifted in me how I look at the trials we have in life and the way that they can bring us closer to our loving Heavenly Father. It also helped me to think more deeply on how I sit with others as they experience difficult moments in life. There are so many things to learn from this book that I know I will revisit it again.
Some favorite quotes from it:
The language of lament gives a meaningful form to our grief by providing a vocabulary for our suffering and then offering it to God as worship.
Lament expresses one of the most intimate moments of faith, not denial of it. It is supreme honesty before God whom my faith tells me I can trust.
Some favorite quotes from it:
The language of lament gives a meaningful form to our grief by providing a vocabulary for our suffering and then offering it to God as worship.
Lament expresses one of the most intimate moments of faith, not denial of it. It is supreme honesty before God whom my faith tells me I can trust.
March 27, 2026
I did not know what I was picking up when I started this book. I don’t read much Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint literature, but after this book, I’m interested in reaching for it again. I had a lot of I never thought of it that way moments with this book. Wonderful study guide on lament and an excellent overview of and, frankly, answers to some of the biggest “why”s I’ve ever encountered.
Highly recommend.
Highly recommend.
August 25, 2024
My notes from this book...
Leaning into vulnerability helps us transform through love.
God wins our affection by making himself eternally vulnerable to the pain of the human condition
God is not a stoic God. He is Enoch's God the God who weeps He is emotionally vulnerable and shows emotional vulnerability
God knows pain and is not afraid of an authentic Covenant relationship
God is strong enough to be our God through all seasons of life
Lamemnt
Remain in dialogue with the divine
The divine silence is the holy of holies
Lament can be a lifeline to worship from within our sorrow
Leaning into vulnerability helps us transform through love.
God wins our affection by making himself eternally vulnerable to the pain of the human condition
God is not a stoic God. He is Enoch's God the God who weeps He is emotionally vulnerable and shows emotional vulnerability
God knows pain and is not afraid of an authentic Covenant relationship
God is strong enough to be our God through all seasons of life
Lamemnt
Remain in dialogue with the divine
The divine silence is the holy of holies
Lament can be a lifeline to worship from within our sorrow
January 21, 2025
"If the hard and difficult parts of life and the feelings those events elicit are just as holy and just as important as happy and joyful moments--and our sacred texts make clear that they are--then if our worship is to be authentic, we must also make room to include expressions of sadness and grief from a foundation of faith."
"Where murmuring is half-suppressed resentment ABOUT God, lament is fully open expression TO God."
"Where murmuring is half-suppressed resentment ABOUT God, lament is fully open expression TO God."
May 1, 2024
An exciting, thought-provoking idea. The writing was a little dry academia. Overall, worth the read. I’ve already put some of it into practice.
March 12, 2026
This took a while cause it was dense but so validating. I had tears through so much of it. I almost gave it 4 stars though because it did get very repetitive with the lament. One chapter would say the same thing just in different scripture or quotations. My favorite bits:
•Being thankful for the rain is sometimes not enough to canceled parade. And sometimes the rain is so strong and lasts so long that it washes away our hope that there will ever be another parade.
•the good news is that sadness and happiness are both part of the plan, and that Jesus is ready to walk with us through the full range of experiences on the way to eternal life.
•God, and in front of a multitude. Not only is Jesus un-afraid of feeling troubled, but he is also fearless in his expression of it. We do not know what Jesus says next, but we know that he prays with such feeling and conviction that "no tongue can speak neither can there be written by any man, neither can the hearts of men conceive so great and mar velous things as we both saw and heard Jesus speak" (3 Nephi 17:17)
•For His Atonement to be infinite and eternal, He had to feel what it was like to die not only physically but spiritually, to sense what it was like to have the divine Spirit withdraw, leaving one feeling totally, abjectly, hopelessly alone."
•Barbara Brown Taylor said it, "In the silence [from God] surrounding his death, Jesus became the best possible companion for those whose prayers are not answered, who would give anything just to hear God call them by name. Him too. He wanted that too, and he did not get it. What he got, instead, was a fathomless silence in which to cry out."2
•Rather, our sacred texts recognize that we can faithfully express sadness as part of worship—we can lament.
As Michael Card puts it, "Lament is not a path to worship, but the path of worship."
•The feelings those events elicit are just as holy and just as important as happy and joyful moments
•Michael Card summarized the value of laments well. He says, "The language of lament gives a meaningful form to our grief by providing a vocabulary for our suffering and then offering it to God as worship."I Lament is worship just as much as praise is. It is an unfortunate reality, though, that many of us have not learned how to use this particular tool.
• Our refusal to lament separates us from God.
•The psalmists dare to speak to God directly and honestly ... to be angry with God is not impious, but an acknowledgement that God matters to us.
•Worship is for the good times and the bad. Worship can happen on those Sundays when we make it to church with bells on our shoes and feel to sing songs of praise, and worship can happen on those Sundays when we come to church with a heart full of sorrow, and worship can happen even on those Sundays when life is so hard we are unsure if we can get out of bed at all.
•God is strong enough to be our God in all seasons of our life.
•Elder Jeffrey R. Holland observes, "Some of the world's most painful suffering is done in silence.
•Hannah the means to locate herself emotionally in the worship practices of her people and gave her the ability to speak even when her own words may have failed her. Sacred text created the emotional space for her to voice her worship honestly.
•those who suffer should be able to voice that complaint privately and in church. If we cannot bring to God the sorrow, grief, and pain we will inevitably feel through the voice of lament—pri-vately and in public worship servicesthen our worship will reflect only an incomplete portion of the human experience.
•lament helps us see that grief and sorrow can be given to God-that these emotions can be taken to the altar of the temple-just as readily as happiness and joy can.
•lament joins our communities together.
•a covenant relationship without lament is ultimately incomplete
•lamenting together as a family allows us all to be vulnerable and open with loved ones, which can serve to strengthen our relationships.
•Lament asks God "why?" and "how?" but does not offer a "be-cause." It is in this way that lament is a valuable spiritual practice.
•Lament, it seems, is actually part of the process through which deliverance arrives.
•Tears may be wiped away but the memory of crying remains.
•A church that integrates the theology of suffering with the theology of celebra-tion.
•Being thankful for the rain is sometimes not enough to canceled parade. And sometimes the rain is so strong and lasts so long that it washes away our hope that there will ever be another parade.
•the good news is that sadness and happiness are both part of the plan, and that Jesus is ready to walk with us through the full range of experiences on the way to eternal life.
•God, and in front of a multitude. Not only is Jesus un-afraid of feeling troubled, but he is also fearless in his expression of it. We do not know what Jesus says next, but we know that he prays with such feeling and conviction that "no tongue can speak neither can there be written by any man, neither can the hearts of men conceive so great and mar velous things as we both saw and heard Jesus speak" (3 Nephi 17:17)
•For His Atonement to be infinite and eternal, He had to feel what it was like to die not only physically but spiritually, to sense what it was like to have the divine Spirit withdraw, leaving one feeling totally, abjectly, hopelessly alone."
•Barbara Brown Taylor said it, "In the silence [from God] surrounding his death, Jesus became the best possible companion for those whose prayers are not answered, who would give anything just to hear God call them by name. Him too. He wanted that too, and he did not get it. What he got, instead, was a fathomless silence in which to cry out."2
•Rather, our sacred texts recognize that we can faithfully express sadness as part of worship—we can lament.
As Michael Card puts it, "Lament is not a path to worship, but the path of worship."
•The feelings those events elicit are just as holy and just as important as happy and joyful moments
•Michael Card summarized the value of laments well. He says, "The language of lament gives a meaningful form to our grief by providing a vocabulary for our suffering and then offering it to God as worship."I Lament is worship just as much as praise is. It is an unfortunate reality, though, that many of us have not learned how to use this particular tool.
• Our refusal to lament separates us from God.
•The psalmists dare to speak to God directly and honestly ... to be angry with God is not impious, but an acknowledgement that God matters to us.
•Worship is for the good times and the bad. Worship can happen on those Sundays when we make it to church with bells on our shoes and feel to sing songs of praise, and worship can happen on those Sundays when we come to church with a heart full of sorrow, and worship can happen even on those Sundays when life is so hard we are unsure if we can get out of bed at all.
•God is strong enough to be our God in all seasons of our life.
•Elder Jeffrey R. Holland observes, "Some of the world's most painful suffering is done in silence.
•Hannah the means to locate herself emotionally in the worship practices of her people and gave her the ability to speak even when her own words may have failed her. Sacred text created the emotional space for her to voice her worship honestly.
•those who suffer should be able to voice that complaint privately and in church. If we cannot bring to God the sorrow, grief, and pain we will inevitably feel through the voice of lament—pri-vately and in public worship servicesthen our worship will reflect only an incomplete portion of the human experience.
•lament helps us see that grief and sorrow can be given to God-that these emotions can be taken to the altar of the temple-just as readily as happiness and joy can.
•lament joins our communities together.
•a covenant relationship without lament is ultimately incomplete
•lamenting together as a family allows us all to be vulnerable and open with loved ones, which can serve to strengthen our relationships.
•Lament asks God "why?" and "how?" but does not offer a "be-cause." It is in this way that lament is a valuable spiritual practice.
•Lament, it seems, is actually part of the process through which deliverance arrives.
•Tears may be wiped away but the memory of crying remains.
•A church that integrates the theology of suffering with the theology of celebra-tion.
March 31, 2025
This was a REALLY good book and I was enjoying the new insights into allowing lament occur into our lives and even community, but the last third of the book or so felt like it was just repeating and rambling on and on. And I felt like some parts (just a few) in my personal opinion turned into his own opinions on some things that I personally felt like it didn't have to do with this book.
Overall, I'd still recommend it since the author seems or have studied a topic not many Christians study and majority of it for a while was good, then the last two chapters, mainly the last one, was dragging ans became too long. That's just me though. But I'm still glad I picked this up cause there were other things I felt like I needed to hear or be reminded of ans was uplifting for me in other places for sure.
Overall, I'd still recommend it since the author seems or have studied a topic not many Christians study and majority of it for a while was good, then the last two chapters, mainly the last one, was dragging ans became too long. That's just me though. But I'm still glad I picked this up cause there were other things I felt like I needed to hear or be reminded of ans was uplifting for me in other places for sure.
October 4, 2024
Treating lamentation as worship is long overdue in the Puritan/protestant tradition that informs current Christian thought.
In the modern vernacular, we gain more by being vulnerable with God like the ancients were. To feel deeply whether joy or pain is to gain a greater connection with God.
This book explores how lamentation can bring souls solace in the midst of life's most painful moments. It uses the lamentation psalms and other scripture where God's children are pouring their hearts out to Him in anguish to show how those times bring us closer to Him.
Definitely thought provoking.
In the modern vernacular, we gain more by being vulnerable with God like the ancients were. To feel deeply whether joy or pain is to gain a greater connection with God.
This book explores how lamentation can bring souls solace in the midst of life's most painful moments. It uses the lamentation psalms and other scripture where God's children are pouring their hearts out to Him in anguish to show how those times bring us closer to Him.
Definitely thought provoking.
July 15, 2024
This book provided me with such a healing, peaceful paradigm shift!! I appreciated the thoughts about living in a praise-focused religious culture and felt so validated in using language and expressions of lament as a form of worship as well as a way to strengthen covenantal relationships with God. I definitely felt like I was drinking out of a fire hose with this one. I will need to re-read/refer back to this book often- I feel so inspired😊
February 15, 2025
Libby. A different concept in sadness, trails and hard times in our lives. The most important thing to me is our relationship with God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. Faith, Hope Gratefulness. Lament gives a new perspective to always keep the line of communication open with our Heavenly Father.
January 5, 2026
It felt a little too academic for an audience seeking resolve in a highly emotional state. All the content was quality. But I would have preferred some more relatable anecdotes to put things in a better emotional context to relate my feelings to to really get and understand the point of all the academic content.
July 18, 2024
Wow, completely unfamiliar with this topic and a book I likely need to read and ponder more about. Well written and highly recommended. I do believe in being authentic with God, He knows our frustrations already. A lot of power in lamenting.
January 24, 2025
Such a beautiful book explaining why and how lament is integral to a relationship with God as well as how we can create an atmosphere in our relationships that welcomes lament. This is written for members of The Church of Jesus Christ but can be applicable to all.
June 1, 2025
A little repetitive, but there was some really great discussion in here. My favorite parts were (1) the kind of peripheral distinction between murmuring and lament and (2) the discussion on “newness” toward the end.
October 20, 2025
I couldn’t stop reading. As a therapist and TS President, this is a book that so many LDS people can use. I love the insight and depths it went into to help with comprehension. Beautifully written—much needed.
July 4, 2024
I really enjoyed the first 50 pages and then it started to drag. It’s an important topic but I thought the book was a little too long.
July 30, 2024
Absolutely loved this book. Unique viewpoint and thought provoking. Articulated my own thoughts and feelings so well.
February 4, 2025
4.5, the beginning was a little slow for me. But it brought to light a new perspective for me and gave support in needed areas.
March 5, 2025
I hate to sound dramatic, but this is one of the most important books I've ever read.
August 28, 2025
Really well-written book about a concept I have never considered. I especially liked his examples. The epilogue was also helpful.
September 1, 2025
So many good insights. So many things I want to ponder more and find if I can do better at this and to allow others the space to do it as well.
February 8, 2026
Libby. Rd
January 16, 2025
I loved the concept of Lament described in this book. His examples were clear, his progression of the value and his stipulations that separate lament from murmur seem correct. Nevertheless, there is so much repetition and interruption that I found d myself losing interest toward the end of the book I found myself feeling this all could’ve been an excellent devotional or article in a scholarly journal, but 165 pages may have been too much. However, I invite all to consider lament as a form, even an important form of worship and establishing authentic relationship w God.
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