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Thankfully, God has provided the Psalms to help us navigate such times. One Bible Scholar named Walter Brueggemann said this about disorientation Psalms:

"It is no wonder that the church has intuitively avoided these psalms [of disorientation]. They lead us into dangerous acknowledgement of how life really is. They lead us into the presence of God where everything is not polite and civil. They cause us to think unthinkable thoughts and utter unutterable words. Perhaps worst, they lead us away from the comfortable religious claims of "modernity" in which everything is managed and controlled. In our modern experience, but probably also in every successful and affluent culture, it is believed that enough power and knowledge can tame the terror and eliminate the darkness. Very much a "religion of orientation" operates on that basis. But our honest experience, both personal and public, attests to the resilience of the darkness, in spite of us. The remarkable thing about Israel is that it did not banish or deny the darkness from its religious enterprise. It embraces the darkness as the very stuff of new life. Indeed, Israel seems to know that new life comes nowhere else."1

I love the realism in the statement “But our honest experience, both personal and public, attests to the resilience of the darkness in spite of us.” Yet once we acknowledge this, we can step forward with faith in the Lord. These Psalms help us pray when we experience the brokenness of life and everything seems chaotic. Praying these Psalms can help us express our disorientation. But they can also help us move forward from disorientation with an active faith in God and His guidance.

Psalms of Disorientation come in the form of laments or confession. Laments help us express anger, frustration or confusion about the situation or the experience of God’s absence. Confession Psalms help us express regrets and sorrow over wrongs we have done. So here’s a list that I hope you find helpful.

Community Laments: 12, 44, 58, 60, 74, 79, 80, 83, 85, 89, 90, 94, 123, 126.

Individual Laments: 3, 4, 5, 7, 9-10, 13, 14, 17, 22, 25, 26, 27, 28, 31, 36, 39, 40:12-17, 41, 42-43, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 59, 61, 64, 70, 71, 77, 86, 89, 120, 139, 141, 142

Confessional Psalms: Psalms 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, 143

So I leave you today with the end of lament Psalm 60. May God be your strength today!

Psalm 60:11-12 (NIV)
11 Give us aid against the enemy, for human help is worthless.
12 With God we will gain the victory,
and he will trample down our enemies.

1. http://paearly.com/blog/2018/8/14/walter-brueggemann-on-psalms-of-disorientation-expressing-the-experience Accessed March 30, 2020.