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🔊 Episode Description:
Lament isn’t the opposite of faith, it’s faith drawn close. In this episode of the Christ Focused Network Podcast, Sam Johnston walks through one of the most underutilized forms of worship in the modern Church: biblical lament.
Too often, believers feel the pressure that "grief is not part of the proper Christian life" or that they should smile through their pain. But Scripture models something far more honest and healing. David, Jeremiah, Job, and even Jesus didn’t rush through their grief, they prayed it. This episode invites listeners to slow-walk through lament's four biblical movements, address, complaint, request, and trust, and rediscover how grief expressed with God becomes a form of sacred worship.
We’ll cover:
* Address – Why biblical lament starts with calling on God by name, even when He feels absent. This first move is faith, naming who you're talking to when your heart is breaking (Psalm 42:1–2).
* Complaint – How lament permits you to say what's wrong. We’ll explore why expressing sorrow isn’t dishonoring but deeply biblical, and why sanitized prayers can stunt our spiritual life (Psalm 42:3–10).
* Request – A faithful lament doesn’t just vent, it asks. This section covers how to make specific petitions even when you’re unsure if God will act immediately (Psalm 43:1–3).
* Trust – Every lament is heading somewhere. It ends in surrendered confidence. “Hope in God; for I shall again praise Him” isn’t a platitude, it’s the kind of worship only sorrow can produce (Psalm 43:5).
Expect a practical, Scripture-rich invitation to write your own lament. You'll receive a guided framework for crafting a Psalm 42-style prayer and a breakdown of why so many Christians are burned out,
not because they feel too much, but because they never let those feelings breathe before God.
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Next Week - Sneak Peek
“The Vocational Calling Myth: How Your Skill Serves the Kingdom.”
Somewhere along the way we inhaled a half-truth: “Real ministry happens on Sunday. Monday through Friday? That’s ‘just work.’” Scripture tells a different story. From Bezalel’s Spirit-filled craftsmanship in Exodus 31 to Paul’s tent-making and the sweeping command, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord” (Col 3:23-24), God insists the sacred–secular divide is an illusion. Your spreadsheets, design mock-ups, lesson plans, and patient charts are all potential altars. Next issue, we’ll dismantle the myth, trace a biblical theology of vocation, and offer tools to craft a personal purpose statement that resists burnout and turns daily skill into kingdom seed.
What We’ll Explore
* Created to Craft - Why the first person “filled with the Spirit” in Scripture was a blue-collar artisan (Ex 31:1-6).
* Assigned, Not Accidental - How Paul’s counsel “let each person lead the life… assigned by God” (1 Cor 7:17) frees us from career envy.
* Work as Worship - Practical habits to consecrate e-mails and meetings, not just quiet times.
* Burnout Antidotes - Sabbath rhythms and identity anchors that keep calling from curdling into idolatry.
Pre-Reading to Prime the Conversation
* Colossians 3:23-24: Link
Sets the cornerstone, your true Supervisor sits on heaven’s throne.
* Exodus 31:1-6: Link
Bezalel & Oholiab: proof that Spirit-anointed skill isn’t limited to pulpits.
* 1 Corinthians 7:17: Link
Paul roots vocation in divine assignment, not social prestige.
* Tim Keller, Every Good Endeavor (ch. 3 “Work as Cultivation”): Link
Unpacks Genesis vocation and modern application.
* Dorothy Sayers, “Why Work?” (essay): Link
A bracing call to view work as co-creation, not mere pay-cheque.
* Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God (Letter 1): Link
Monastic wisdom for washing dishes to the glory of God.
* Jordan Raynor, Called to Create (intro): Link
Entrepreneurial perspective on faith-driven excellence.
* Podcast: “Vocation and Calling: Isaiah 60; 65:21-25; Revelation 21:1-5, 22-27” – John Terrill, Former Director, Center for Integrity in Business, Seattle Pacific University (16 min): Link
Big-picture eschatology: Why what we build now echoes into eternity.
* Song: “Backwards Kingdom” by
Sam McCabe
featuring
Andy Squyres
: Link
A musical meditation on upside-down kingdom values, perfect backdrop as you rethink ‘ordinary’ work.
Dip into one or two resources; bring a note on how they reframed your nine-to-five.
Thank you for entrusting me with your time, and perhaps today with your tears. The Father not only permits lament, He collects it. “For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd... and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” (Revelation 7:17 (ESV)). May that promise give you courage to pray your grief until grief itself becomes worship.
I’m glad you’re here.
Let’s run the race - Eyes Up, Chin Up!
Grace and peace,
Sam JohnstonFounder, Christ Focused[email protected]
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