Several years ago, I was standing in front of an audience at a workshop. As I described how discovering my Chazown, purpose or vision, and started living with purpose had ignited a passion in me I had forgotten. Suddenly, my eyes watered, tears, fell, as I struggled to pull my self together and said, “I’m sorry, silly emotions are rising again.”
A few months ago a friend and I were serving as hosts at baptism. Our duties were to talk and pray with those to be baptized, and their families as the waited for the service to begin. I looked over and saw my friend trying to hide tears. I touched her arm as I asked: “Are you alright.” She smiled: “Yes, just silly emotions.” Later I learned she heard a story of redemption and transformation for a family of three and she was overcome with God’s abundant love.
A blog post in a Facebook group caught my attention. The lady was asking for prayer. She ended with, “I know others have more important problems, and I don’t know why I have all these tears. I shouldn’t be crying over something so insignificant. Just Silly Emotions.”
Do we have “Silly Emotions”?
Our emotions are not silly. Individually we experience a variety of emotions every day. When we feel an intense emotional response that we often cannot explain in front of others, we call it a silly emotion.
All of us have experienced crying during a movie. What we are watching and hearing is similar to another scene in our life. We identify with it. The tears come.
I know that when God works on healing my heart, I frequently experience an unexpected emotion. I feel the passion, joy, gratefulness, or forgiveness that is triggered by life in real time.
In the first story, I was feeling the passion and joy I have in my heart when I am working in partnership with Jesus; Living a life of purpose according to His will. Seeds God planted when I was much younger are now bearing fruit.
On baptism Sunday my friend heard a families story of overwhelming grace, mercy and God’s faithfulness. Witnessing the magnitude of God’s love activated pure joy and gratefulness in her heart. I shared her joy myself and prayed my faith is confirmed by tears of joy frequently.
My friend on Facebook is experiencing a mother’s love as she waits for God to work in her children’s lives. Can you feel her pain? Not silly at all. Any time we ask for prayer the helplessness we feel is real. We know we can’t change what is happening, but we believe with all our heart that God can.
The next time you experience an emotion you want to dismiss as being silly ask the Holy Spirit to help you identify what you are feeling.
Celebrate your passion even with tears.
Celebrate God’s love with tears, and with prayer. Demonstrating we can be overwhelmed by the exquisiteness of God’s faithfulness is a beautiful experience.
Celebrate your faith in Jesus. There is no prayer too small or request too vast to lay at His feet. Your prayer warrior friends are gladly interceding for you.
