2017 Belmont University Lenten Devotional Guideنمونہ

The readings today are probably some of the most brutally honest passages in scripture. The words of the psalmist and author of Lamentations are filled with grief, despair, hope, anxiety, trust and anger. These poetic expressions are deeply rooted in human experience and emotion. We often feel as though there are “correct” and “incorrect” emotions. The correct emotions are those found in Psalm 31:14 where the Psalmist says, “I trust in you, Oh Lord” and places his hope in God. Incorrect emotions are those found a few verses earlier when the same person says his soul wastes away in grief, bordering on utter despair. Even more incorrect are the demands found in Lamentations that God curse and destroy one’s enemies. What we see here, and elsewhere in scripture, is that no emotion is off limits. The biblical authors have no qualms moving from accusing God of abandonment in one line to praising Him in the next. When we honestly examine scripture we find that it is less the content of our thoughts and feelings that make them holy or unholy, and more to what, or whom, we direct them. All of the above emotion—despair, hatred and trust are directed toward God. The biblical authors do not hold back like we often do, but instead bring everything before God and let Him sort it all out. I hope that we can take a cue from the biblical authors and begin to be more honest with God and ourselves. We all feel the full spectrum of emotion, sometimes feeling multiple emotions at once. A loved one passes away and we are simultaneously relieved they are no longer suffering, grieved because of the loss and angry because their death seems unfair. God can handle all of it, and in some ways we demonstrate a lack of trust in God when we withhold our doubts, sorrow and anger and only proclaim the “trust” we have in Him. Take a moment and ask yourself today do you trust God with all your emotions, not just the ones that make you feel good? JOSH RIEDEL Assistant Director of Spiritual Formation University Ministries