What does it look like to worship God when you’re carrying shame, guilt, or unresolved pain?

In this powerful conversation, I sit down with Thomas Davis — Pastor and ministry leader of 20 years, currently pursuing his Master’s in Professional Counseling — to talk about authentic worship, emotional healing, and how our family-of-origin and past wounds shape the way we approach God.

Thomas shares his personal story of growing up in a performance-driven environment, the anxiety and striving that followed him into ministry, and how worship became a place where he encountered a loving God who accepts us as we are — no striving, no measuring up required.

We also dig deep into:

• Worship when you’re carrying shame, guilt, or unresolved pain — and why authenticity is the sign of someone who’s not hiding from God.

• Why Christians often feel uncomfortable with pain and suffering, and how counseling can help us embrace both.

• The C.S. Lewis quote that reframes pain as God’s “megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”

• What to say to a young adult who feels “not spiritually strong enough” or “not good enough” to approach God.

• Performance-based faith — how dysfunctional or works-driven family dynamics can carry into our relationship with God.

• How family systems theory and attachment theory reveal the link between our earthly relationships and how we relate to our Heavenly Father.

• Why some people feel God’s love is conditional — and how to heal from that belief.

• Practical steps to reconnect with worship when you feel spiritually numb or emotionally disconnected from God.

  
  

  
  

Thomas doesn’t shy away from the real and the raw — and if you’ve ever wrestled with distorted views of God, emotional disconnection, or trying to earn God’s love, this episode will speak directly to your heart.

Key Quote from Thomas:

“Worship provided an avenue for me to encounter a loving God who didn’t ask me to measure up, but accepted me anyway.”

Mentioned in this Episode:
📖 The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis
📜 The Psalms — honest prayers from the heart

If you’re searching for:

• How to worship God in hard seasons

• Overcoming shame in the Christian life

• Healing from performance-based Christianity

• Understanding emotional healing through worship

• How family-of-origin affects your faith

  …this episode is for you.

  
  

  
  

🎧 Listen in, and discover how to bring your whole, authentic self into God’s presence — even in seasons of pain.