I cried this morning during worship for the first time in a really long time...and that's okay!
I used to hold back my tears during worship until eventually I became numb to feeling the emotions that made me want to cry. I used to be embarrassed to cry during worship. It's not something that I usually see people do during worship so I thought that I was weak for being so emotional. Recently, I have gotten myself back to where I get emotional during worship. I feel and understand the weight of the words we sing. I allow myself to be pricked by prayers and sermons and scripture. I am allowing myself to feel and not just go through the motions. I have finally realized that it is perfectly okay to cry during worship and personal Bible study. It is okay to cry tears of joy and tears of sorrow. It is okay to be overwhelmed with joy or overwhelmed with sorrow. Even Jesus cried and felt emotions deeply (i.e. when He was praying in Gethsemane, when Lazarus died, etc.). When you listen and reason correctly, it should produce an emotional response. God's words are so powerful that we should feel emotions in response to their greatness. It wasn't easy for me to get back to producing an emotional response during worship. It took me a while to knock down walls I had built and push past being numb to feeling deeply. It took hard work and determination to get to where I am today. I am not ashamed for crying. If you are a crier, I hope that you're not ashamed either. We need to feel in order to better understand God's power and grace and mercy and forgiveness. We were given emotions for a reason. Let's use them to help us grow closer to God. Let's shift from just going through the motions to going through the emotions.
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AuthorMy name is Jennifer Odom and I've been a Christian since October 2011. I'm a 20-year-old junior at Freed-Hardeman University. I hope to speak at several ladies days, become a music teacher, get involved with mission work, and bring as many people as I can with me to heaven. Stepping in Light is affiliated with the church of Christ. Archives
April 2020
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