It’s amazing to think about how much we believe we know. We can provide the solution, the quick fix, and the right words to finish the sentence. It’s equally as amazing to think of all the times we fail, the times our expected outcome never happened, or when our solution yielded nothing more than a temporary thrill. Our problem is that we “know” it all without knowing much at all. To grow is to acknowledge how lost we are and how badly we need assistance. It’s not possible for us to be happy all in our own strength. Now while this has the potential to turn into a hyper religious sermon, I promise that that’s not at all what I’m trying to do. Rather, I just want to be upfront and hopefully allow you to see yourself in me. If you do, we can then work together on bettering ourselves. Ready? Let’s go.

I was convicted about a week ago in regards to this very topic. During that time, I was very frustrated and irritated with my life. Not that any specific thing was going wrong but rather my life as a whole irritated me. I wasn’t thrilled. I didn’t feel particularly motivated. I still felt confused about my next steps. While those are all normal feelings and reactions, what we do next is super important and telling. A week ago, I responded with aggravation, with deciding to still keep with my same methods (hoping for different results), and allowing myself to be alright with just feeling average.
During one of those nights last week, I was confronted about it. “When are you going to give up and let me do this?”
“How long will it take until you’re tired enough to stop?”
Those were the questions I heard in my head and knew exactly who it came from. The Lord was sick of my mess and needed me to be sick of it too.
“Get up and let me sit down.”
“Move out of the way so I can drive.”
“Only I can tell you the future before it even happens. Everything I plan will come to pass, for I do whatever I wish.” *
It was an epiphany for me. Not only was it okay for me to not know what to do, what to expect, and how to prosper in my strength, I was never meant to know. I was never meant to make all those decisions. I was never meant to have all that stress on me. Especially not when God was here the entire time waiting for me to chill out so He could move on behalf.

It would be great to evaluate your decisions and responses to daily life. Do you feel overwhelmed with your life and trying to do it all right? Is your victory or defeat based in your power? Are you finessing solutions just so you look like you’ve got it all together? If you answered yes to any one of those questions, then I suggest you just get still and rest. Life has a way of making you feel pressured into making rash decisions. It has a way of making you feel like everyone has it together except for you. But it’s lying. You’re fine. You’re not behind. You’re not lacking. So rest and receive. Let God sit down in your driver’s seat and determine the course for your life. The sooner you get out of His way, the sooner you’ll feel better. The change won’t happen overnight. There’s a pretty high chance that you’ll feel restless while you wait (at least I did!). It is important, however, that you stay the course. Rushing God won’t bring you any result you haven’t seen before. Let Him work and watch yourself start breathing easier.

Keep your peace up, family. Until next time, twentysomethings.

*Isaiah 46:10