If our version of Christianity is a belief system that skips past the pain and struggle of real life and offers doctrine and platitudes that minimize reality, then reality will always make it impossible for most to believe. The Gospel is good news, of course, but it is good news in the midst of a world still marked by heartache, disappointment, and brokenness. Psalm 3 – the first of the lament Psalms – calls us into the long legacy of God’s people and the scriptures in order to truly take hold of who God is and how he works in the real world. The lament Psalms are an uncommon gift – the poetry that enables us to maintain the connection between the difficult realities of life and the presence and participation of a loving God who sees us, hears us, and responds to our trouble.