Beyond Our Feelings

A Reflection on the Psalm for June 28th, 2020:
Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

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​Psalm 89

R. Forever I will sing of your steadfast love, O Lord.

I will sing of your steadfast love, O Lord, forever; with my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations. I declare that your steadfast love is established forever; your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens. 

R. Forever I will sing of your steadfast love, O Lord.

Blessed are the people who know the festal shout, who walk, O Lord, in the light of your countenance; they exult in your name all day long, and extol your righteousness. 

R. Forever I will sing of your steadfast love, O Lord.

For you are the glory of their strength; by your favour our horn is exalted. For our shield belongs to the Lord, our king to the Holy One of Israel. 

R. Forever I will sing of your steadfast love, O Lord.

Pause. Pray.

And then read more...

We know that God loves us! 

Do you sometimes feel though, that it is difficult to praise Him? There may be times when we are feeling so low, or frustrated, or so unappreciated that we cannot find it in our hearts to be thankful. We actually feel sorry for ourselves.

We then need to go beyond our feelings. We need to remind ourselves that He loves us and that He does not wish bad things for us. In moments like these, repeating “He loves me and wants only good for me” over and over again like a mantra actually helps! Then we start thinking of the good things that have happened to us. Then we start feeling a little better as we remember small victories, answered prayers, and even big victories. Soon we find ourselves thanking God for those successes. 

Getting to that point however, takes practice. It also requires a lot of prayer. During times of defeat, we must pray for God’s help to overcome that feeling of discouragement. We are humbled as we are stripped of our pride while praying for strength and courage. And guess what? During those times when we are unable to lift ourselves up, God meets us where we are. He bends down to pick us up, helps us get on our feet, and even carries us when we are unable to stand! 

After the crisis has passed, we realize that God was there for us during all those times of trial and challenge. Then we fall down on our knees in thanksgiving for His steadfast love and support. He never left us. He was holding our hand as we went through those tough times.

We then praise God for His steadfast love for us. We reflect on those many times in our lives when God walked with us on our journey. We resolve to forever proclaim His goodness and love for us.

It does not end there. As we reflect on our lives and the countless incidents and experiences we’ve had with our God and the joy, gladness, peace, and love that we feel, we want to share Him with others. 

We cannot just keep quiet. We WANT to share God’s goodness and His love. We are called to share about God. We bear witness to His love and care for us. We share that Love with others by perhaps providing a listening ear, or a shoulder to cry on, or by simply giving a nod of understanding to brothers and sisters in need of someone to talk to. We bring God closer to them just by doing that!

By our lives we “forever sing of your steadfast love, O Lord.”




Liz Venezuela


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Photo by Mohamed Nohassi on Unsplash

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