Living life loudly

The other day I was really tired while driving to work. It had been a long week and a long weekend before. That made driving difficult. I needed to get to work, but I had a hard time keeping my eyes open. So I began to shout and sing loudly to keep myself from falling asleep.

I think that past morning was kind of a parable of my life recently. In order for me to remain spiritually awake and alert, I need to shout to the LORD and sing loudly. Shouting is often a great way to let your spirit express itself to God. Samuel Logan Brengle, one of the Salvation Army's early holiness theologians, once wrote an article about shouting that became part of his book Helps to Holiness. He says that nothing scares off the forces of Hell more quickly that a hearty, loud, honest shout of praise to the LORD. There's something about being loud to the LORD that excites our spirits and frightens the enemy.

So I'm going to shout. I need to sing praise and do it loudly. I need to shout and hoot and holler for the LORD, because I haven't been, even though I've wanted to, and I spiritually fell asleep. My life became drudgery and difficult and completely unsatisfying. I need to shout because it feels a little more like the abundant life Christ came to give me. Lord, help me to never be afraid to publicly shout your praises. Amen.