Food Network star Aarti Sequeira recently reminded her followers that we can still praise God in our sorrowful moments.
“I was kind of emotional during church yesterday, and my husband Brendan was like, ‘Are you okay?’ I’m not,” she started off in a recent Instagram video. “I’m sad, but I trust that God’s in control, and even this sad part has some usefulness. It is okay for you to be sorrowed by your circumstances and still sing a song of praise. We can do both. As people who walk in the shadow of Christ, we know that this is not the be all and end all. It’s still okay to be sorrowed.”
Sequeira then referenced Psalm 137, explaining that she sees the story as teaching us that “when you’re super heartbroken, you’re not necessarily wanting to sing joyful hymns of praise, and I think that that’s okay.”
She also talked about how worship music can give us “this sense of connection and unity,” adding, “[it] has the power to lift us up, meaning we can kind of hold a float in our sorrow and not be completely overwhelmed by the waves of it and held down and even be drowned in it.”
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“My Monday motivation for this week is, if you’re feeling sorrowed, feel it. It’s okay,” Sequeira concluded. “You are not displeasing God by feeling your feelings about your circumstances. But do not be drowned by them. Cling to hope and cling to the one in whom hope is found, and play yourself some worship music, girl. Sing your little heart out.”
The Food Network star often shares encouraging messages about how her faith strengthens her and changes her perspective.
In a post from last month, Sequeira asked her followers, “What does a successful life actually look like?”
“Ezekiel 11 got me thinking… maybe God’s definition of success is different than mine,” she explained. “God cares about our physical needs, YES. But He’s even more concerned with what’s happening in our hearts. And what if the greatest thing I can pass on to the next generation isn’t just a better life—but a deeper faith?”
In another post, Sequeira urged her followers to rethink how they view the Old Testament.
“The Old Testament has helped me understand the character of God,” she said. “It is so clear to me from reading the Old Testament how deeply, how viscerally, how much longing God has in His love for us. If you feel like you don’t understand, viscerally, how much God loves you, it’s in here. It’s in the Old Testament.”
While it can be difficult to “sing a song of praise” in hard moments, Sequeira’s words encourage us to look to faith, always.
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