Devotional Thought of the Day:

¹  Shout praises to the LORD! Praise God in his temple. Praise him in heaven, his mighty fortress. ²  Praise our God! His deeds are wonderful, too marvelous to describe. ³  Praise God with trumpets and all kinds of harps. ⁴  Praise him with tambourines and dancing, with stringed instruments and woodwinds. ⁵  Praise God with cymbals, with clashing cymbals. ⁶  Let every living creature praise the LORD. Shout praises to the LORD! Psalm 150:1-6 (CEV)

⁵  Your anger lasts a little while, but your kindness lasts for a lifetime. At night we may cry, but when morning comes we will celebrate. Psalm 30:5 (CEV)

965      I have been thinking of all the priests throughout the world. Help me to pray for the fruitfulness of their apostolates. ”My brother in the priesthood, please speak always about God and, when you really do belong to him, your conversations will never be monotonous.”

The individual’s interaction with God is never dull or routine. At least, it should not be.

There are going to be times of great joy, and times of sorrow and grief. There will be times were we lash out in pain and anger, and times were His comfort will be all we have, for we are crushed by despair. Every emotion that we feel can and should be revealed by us to God, for He knows how we feel.

He even knows how we feel when it becomes necessary for Him to correct us. The hurt and pain we feel, when we admit we have sinned, the grief and shame that comes with the guilt.

If this is true for the individual, it should be true for the church as well.. We are to laugh and cry together (see Romans 12:15), therefore our worship services should have true emotions in them.

That is why we should be emotional as we speak about God, the God we know, the God in whom we are not afraid to cry or laugh, for we know His love. That is why we plead with be to let Him reconcile them to Himself. Growing comfortable in His presence is not about taking God for granted, but letting Him see us as we are….

And knowing He loves us.

Allowing our emotions to show doesn’t mean putting on false displays, or manipulating the congregation. It means simply living life, comfortable in the presence of God.

Let’s be real with Him, and in our communities… Amen!

Escriva, Josemaria. The Forge . Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.