Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy
Discovering the Grace of Lament
by Mark Vroegop
Crossway, 2019. 223 pages.
Review written July 25, 2025, from my own copy, picked up at ALA Annual Conference 2025.
Note: I’ve decided to post this review only on the blog, not on the main Sonderbooks site. Because although I love that he’s talking about laments, because of the caveats below, I don’t want to be seen as endorsing this book.
First, I love with all my heart what this book sets out to do – encouraging Christians to pray laments. But before I talk about that, I do have some strong caveats. Fair warning: one of the early examples in this book is about a young man with a “lifelong struggle with same-sex attraction.” A later chapter talks about same-sex marriage being legal showing the wickedness of the culture. Fair warning to LGBTQ Christians – this is probably not the book for you.
Another small quibble: The author says, “There’s something uniquely Christian about lament…” This wording feels unfortunate, completely ignoring that the Psalms of lament were literally written by Jews. I would have accepted “fundamentally Christian” or “profoundly Christian” – but “uniquely Christian” ignores that we share this way of praying with Judaism. I appreciate the point that it’s okay – and indeed deeply faithful – to pray laments, though!
I have written a book, Praying with the Psalmists, that I’m trying to find a publisher for, and the chapter on laments is one of my favorites. I’m also planning a follow-up book, Laments for Lent, that will look more deeply into laments. To be fair, I have a transgender daughter I’m proud of and mention her in Praying with the Psalmists – so those who share a viewpoint with this author will probably have their own caveats about my book.
But given the author’s non-affirming viewpoint, one that plenty of Christians share – I’m glad there’s a book for those Christians about Lament. I grew up in evangelical churches, and all too often got the impression that I was supposed to put on a happy face to come before God. This author talks looks at many Psalms of Lament and the book of Lamentations. My favorite point he makes – besides simply showing people how to pray their own laments – is pointing out that the church needs to make room for lament. If we can’t bring our negative emotions to God honestly, then we’re hiding ourselves from God.
Instead of the six-part form of a lament I present in my book, this author pulls out four elements and doesn’t worry about the order. It’s essentially the same idea – I still say you can’t pray incorrectly – though I still have a preference for my approach, again, I love that there’s another book about praying Biblical Laments.
I appreciate that this author also points out how expressing your pain in a lament leads you to praise.
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. The space between brokenness and God’s mercy is where this song is sung. Think of lament as the transition between pain and promise.
So I have mixed emotions about this book. On the one hand, I wouldn’t normally review a book that assumes that LGBTQ people are sinning. But the main message – that God can handle our pain, that turning to God through the dark clouds will lead us to deep mercy – that is one that all Christians can benefit from.
You don’t have to put on a happy face to come before God.
When dark clouds roll in, lament is the path to find mercy – even as the clouds linger. Lament is the bridge between dark clouds and deep mercy.
This review is only on the blog.
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Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.
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