I studied the book of Lamentations with my small group during most of 2021. Through thinking about lament in general, and the book of Lamentations specifically, God taught me so much more about grief, prayer, trusting him, and his faithfulness than I could have predicted. It’s no exaggeration—I think I grew more spiritually by studying Lamentations than I have through any other book study in the last five years.
However, not everyone in my Bible study felt the same! A woman in my small group could not wait for us to move on to study something different. She found Lamentations repetitive and deflating (despite all my cheerleading). I’m sure most of my small group friends fell somewhere in the middle.
The Bible lands on each of us differently because God works with different people in different ways. We see this in several places in Scripture.
Shouting and Weeping in Ezra
After King Cyrus of Persia sent a group of Israelite exiles back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple, their first order of business was to construct the altar. After this was accomplished, the people offered burnt offerings and celebrated the prescribed feasts (Ezra 3:3–6). They hadn’t been able to do this for decades!
After the altar, the Israelites laid the foundation of the temple (Ezra 3:10). This was a time for worship and singing.
And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the Lord,
“For he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever toward Israel.”And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers’ houses, old men who had seen the first house, wept with a loud voice when they saw the foundation of this house being laid, though many shouted aloud for joy, so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the joyful shout from the sound of the people’s weeping, for the people shouted with a great shout, and the sound was heard far away. (Ezra 3:11–13)
There was a loud, joyful shout from some people and loud weeping from others. Despite the celebratory occasion, some of the older Israelites mourned because they had seen the original temple (and they had also seen it destroyed). Each person’s history and experience shaped their reaction to this event.
It’s not unusual for God’s people to come away with different responses when he acts.
Surprise, Not Everyone Is Like Me!
When I have a strong reaction to something I expect others share my conclusions and enthusiasm. This is especially true when learning from God’s Word. I think everyone should be convicted in the way I’ve been convicted and focused on the same applications as me. I’m the center, and I’m the standard.
When I get some distance, I can see that my thinking is ridiculous. There is so much that determines how a Bible passage affects a person. Their background, interests, social circles, vocation, experience, and spiritual maturity all play a role.
I need to remind myself frequently that this is a good thing. My church would be boring and unbalanced if everyone took identical impressions and applications away from a Bible study, class, or sermon.
The Value of Application Questions
God works by his Spirit in large crowds with largely uniform responses. (The apostle Peter’s sermon at Pentecost seems to be an example of this.) But God also knows and works with each of us as a loving father trains his children individually according to their needs and disposition.
Bible study leaders can trust God to produce the fruit he wants in each Christian. We guide and lead our friends through observation and interpretation to understand the meaning of a passage, and we should press our friends toward application. But we cannot broadly dictate application to individuals.
This is one reason (among many) that I advocate for asking application questions. It may be better, through such questions, to suggest areas for our friends to consider than to list specific options. The Holy Spirit often helps us examine our lives in light of those questions, convicting and directing us.
Two people at the same study may come away with very different applications of a Bible passage. Bible study leaders can plant and water, but God gives the growth.
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